Winter Strolls
by gip-k
Summary: When unusually cold weather suddenly hits Tokyo, everyone at the Kamiya Dojo is mainly concerned with staying warm. When Tsubame goes missing during a bad storm, their concern shifts to her. -Previously unreleased here, written 2002.-
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Kaoru Kamiya wrapped the heavy, grayish blanket around her more tightly, shivering slightly with the cold. It was never supposed to get so cold in Tokyo. She stared deep into the dancing orange flames as they burned into the wood, making it crackle. Kaoru turned as she heard the sound of slippered feet behind her. Before her stood a man with long red hair that was kept only partially out of his face by a blue band. He still wore his usual clothing, a purple gi that matched the color of his beautiful eyes, and a white hakama. Kaoru looked deep into Kenshin's warm violet eyes that were, as always, somewhat covered by strands of his reddish hair. Those strands also touched the cross-shaped scar on his left cheek- a remnant of some past battle. A warm smile that Kaoru had seen so many times on Kenshin's face twitched the corners of his mouth.

"Kenshin," Kaoru breathed out the words in faint surprise.

"Good afternoon, Miss Kaoru," Kenshin said cheerfully, and as politely as ever. His gaze turned to the dwindling fire for a moment, then back to her. "You must be cold."

Kenshin reached for the nearby stick that Kaoru had previously been using to stir the fire. He stirred the fire, but with such gracefulness that... Kaoru tore her eyes away from him. She was acting like a silly little girl. She was watching Kenshin stir a fire. Stir a fire! And thinking he was doing it gracefully! He was stirring the fire no differently than the way Yahiko would! Wait Yahiko... He was supposed to bring some logs into the house for the fire. Where was he?

Kaoru realized suddenly that Kenshin was putting the stick back where he had taken it from, and now immense warmth was radiating from the fire. Feeling much more comfortable, Kaoru let the blanket drop from her shoulders.

"Thank you, Kenshin," she said.

"It was nothing, Miss Kaoru," Kenshin said, his eyes closing as he gave a modest smile. Then Kenshin's eyes turned towards the window, and his face became more serious.

"The weather has been strange, lately."

Kaoru nodded in agreement.

"I wonder what's going on," she said softly.

Just then, the door burst open loudly, letting in a rush of cold air. Kaoru turned her face to the source of the sudden commotion. Yahiko was standing in the doorway, panting.

Anger rose up in Kaoru at the sight of Yahiko standing there like that. She stood up, ready to reprimand Yahiko severely for not doing his part around the dojo.

"Close the door," she said to the panting boy. "You're letting in all the cold air."

Yahiko quickly turned and shut the door.

"Where have you been all day?" Kaoru demanded angrily.

"Certainly not cooped up in the house doing nothing, like you," Yahiko said, a look of defiance present in his reddish brown eyes.

"You were supposed to go out and cut some logs for the fire!" Kaoru said, becoming angrier every second.

"I- I'll just leave you two here to talk," Kenshin said, and then darted off somewhere.

Kaoru ignored his departure.

"Okay, Yahiko," she said through gritted teeth. She reached for her wooden sword. "You are going to tell me where you've been all day!"

Yahiko's eyes widened momentarily, but then his face broke into a mischievous smile.

"I think it's possible for a student to get better than their master," Yahiko said.

Kaoru's anger grew even more, she charged at Yahiko. He drew out his shinai and deflected easily with it. The match raged on, and in the end, to Yahiko's dismay, Kaoru was the winner.

Yahiko lost his sword, and Kaoru didn't give him a chance to get it. She grabbed his gi collar and yanked him mercilessly.

Sanosuke could hear screaming and yelling from all the way in his room. He cursed under his breath.

"Now what is the little missy up to right now?" he muttered.

Sanosuke had been about to take a nap, but with all the yapping and screaming that turned out to be impossible. Sanosuke eyed his white coat lying on top of the small wash table. He snatched it up irritably and shrugged into it. He rushed over to the main part of the dojo, shivering a little in the cold. Kenshin was peeking inside through the window, obviously hoping not to be seen.

"It's ugly, isn't it?" Sanosuke asked.

Kenshin turned around.

"I think it's getting a little out of hand," Kenshin said sheepishly as he scratched his red-haired head. Kenshin flinched as more of Kaoru's yelling flew through the air.

"I better go take care of things," Sanosuke said.

"Be my guest," Kenshin said. "You know how it is. It's not such a good idea to bother Miss Kaoru when she's upset about something."

"I agree," Sanosuke said, grinning. "You can't get more than a few bumps on the head, though."

Sanosuke gave Kenshin a thumbs-up before walking to the other side of the building to open the door.

Inside the dojo, a violent scene was before him. Pictures had fallen off the walls, and Yahiko and Kaoru's weapons were sprawled on the ground. Kaoru was shaking Yahiko violently, demanding that he tell her what he'd been doing. Sanosuke walked up to the two, and grabbed Kaoru's arms. She fought him, still yelling at Yahiko all the while. Yahiko took this opportunity to escape, walking back a few feet until he was a safe distance away from the mad woman.

"Whoa there, little missy," Sanosuke said, as he held a furiously panting Kaoru's wrists. "You do want to see your student alive to graduate, don't you?"

"Jeez," Yahiko said as he rubbed a bruise on his cheek. "What's gotten into you, Ugly?"

"You," Kaoru said, panting from her anger. "Better, TELL MEEE!"

Kaoru nearly escaped Sano's grasp, but he refused to let go.

"Hey!" Sanosuke exclaimed. "What's the meaning of all this?"

Kaoru, who was too angry and exhausted to speak, kept silent except for her hard panting.

"I come home, and then Kaoru tries to beat the heck out of me!" Yahiko said, now at the task of straightening out his clothes.

"NOT TRUE!" Kaoru exclaimed, again trying to free herself from Sanosuke's hold.

"If Ugly here doesn't mind," Yahiko said as he picked up his bamboo sword. "I'm going to my room to take a snooze on my futon. See ya!"

Yahiko walked away, fully aware of the fuming Kaoru that was watching his every move. Whew! He'd escaped that one alive! There was no way he'd have told Kaoru where he'd been. Then she'd tell Sano and Kenshin and- that would have been too much. I've gotten more than a little sick of their teasing. Tsubame's just a nice girl who works at the Akebeko. It's not that I like her or anything. Even in the cool weather, Yahiko's cheeks grew warm. He was lying to himself. He did like her, no matter how much he denied, but he wasn't about to let anyone know. Hey, Kenshin never tells anyone how much he likes Kaoru, so I don't have to tell anything about... OH! What am I doing thinking about her? We're not anything like Kenshin and Kaoru. Tsubame still calls me little. I'm not little! I'm strong! I'll show her. How come Kenshin's the only one who believes I act older than I look? Ten isn't really that young, anyhow!

"You should hurry up before Miss Kaoru gets you, again."

Yahiko flipped around. Kenshin was leaning against the outside of the dojo.

"Oh, hi, Kenshin," Yahiko said. "I didn't see you there."

Kenshin smiled.

"Letting your thoughts distract you, Yahiko?" Kenshin said.

Yahiko looked at him more intently. There was something about the gleam in those violet eyes. It was a sympathetic look, and one of understanding. It was as though Kenshin had some idea of what Yahiko had just been thinking about.

Yahiko turned away, embarrassed.

"Don't be ashamed, Yahiko," Kenshin said. "It happens to me more often than you know."

Something in Kenshin's voice- again there was an indication that he knew what Yahiko was thinking about!

"Kaoru had asked me to chop some wood," Yahiko said quickly. "I better start doing it before she gets mad at me again."

"Calling Miss Kaoru's wrath upon yourself is not a wise thing, that it isn't," Kenshin said.

Yahiko nodded. He hurried to go complete the task at hand.

* * *

Tsubame rushed into the door of the Akebeko, and quickly closed it behind her to keep out the cool air. Tae looked up, abruptly stopping her furious wiping of the table.

"Hello, Miss Tae," Tsubame said breathlessly.

"Why, hello Tsubame," Tae replied. She looked Tsubame over with concerned eyes. "You shouldn't stay out in the cold so long. Your face is all red."

Tsubame studied the floor in a slightly embarrassed manner.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I guess I got a little carried away."

Tsubame had been out feeding birds. She felt sorry for the little creatures in the cold, during which it was very difficult for them to find food. Tsubame's face heated up. She hadn't been out by herself. That cute little boy was there with her, and he seemed to actually be having fun! Oh, little Yahiko. Tsubame thought, a small smile creeping onto her doll-like face.

"Tsubame, are you listen'nin?" Tae asked.

"Oh," Tsubame said, looking up quickly. "I'm sorry. What did you say, Miss Tae?"

"I said that I didn't really have much work for you to do around here so you can have the rest of the day to yourself," Tae said, a faint smile on her lips.

"Oh, thank you, Miss Tae!" Tsubame burst out joyfully. She put her blue cloak back on and rushed out the door.

Tae shook her head, chuckling to herself. She peered out the window and watched Tsubame disappear down the street. After chuckling a little more, she resumed her work.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Yahiko, you're not slashing properly!" Kaoru cried out angrily. "In the Kamiya Kasshin style you put all your emotions into the hit. Now do it again properly!"

Yahiko groaned. Well, maybe I needed it. I just couldn't put my anger in. Well, let me try again.

Yahiko closed his eyes. Concentrate...

"Ooh, I'm sorry," piped a high-pitched female voice. "I didn't mean to interrupt your training."

Yahiko's eyes burst open, his concentration completely ruined. His head turned to the direction of the noise. Tsubame was standing only a few feet away from him. Yahiko felt his cheeks heat up. Had she seen his terrible slashing?

"Oh, hello Tsubame," Kaoru said cheerfully. "We weren't expecting you here today."

"Hello, Kaoru, hello Little Yahiko," Tsubame said with a bow to each of them.

Yahiko's arms fell limply to his sides as he let out an indignant sigh. He rolled his eyes skyward.

"Please- don't- _CALL ME THAT!_" Yahiko said through clenched teeth.

Tsubame put her hand to her mouth in surprise.

"Yahiko!" Kaoru scolded, glaring at him for a minute. When she turned back to Tsubame, she was all smiles. "Tsubame, it's awfully cold out here, so why don't you come and warm up by the fire?"

"Thank you," Tsubame said shyly.

"I- I'm going to stay out here and practice a little longer," Yahiko said when all eyes turned to him. Kaoru nodded, and she and Tsubame walked inside together, with Kaoru leading the conversation.

Just when he was sure the two were too enraptured in their conversation and would not notice his presence, Yahiko crept close to the house to listen.

"...At the Akebeko?" Kaoru was asking.

"Everything's fine, thank you," Tsubame replied. "There aren't very many customers because of the cold weather. Tae has been giving me lots of time off because of the lack of business."

"Yes," replied Kaoru. "What to you do with all that spare time? It must get very boring, just being cooped up in the house all the time with hardly anything to do."

Yahiko inhaled. Brush it off lightly. Go into little detail. Come on, don't embarrass me, Tsubame!

"I like to make things," Tsubame said softly. "I've been trying to learn how to make cloaks like the blue one I'm wearing right now. Isn't it pretty? Tae got it for me."

Yahiko exhaled, relieved.

"Oh yes," Kaoru said. "I need to get myself one of those, especially if it stays cold like this for long."

"Oh, yes!" Tsubame said excitedly. "I fed birds yesterday." Yahiko flinched as he heard Tsubame giggle. "Little Yahiko is such a sweet boy." Yahiko fussed and fumed as Tsubame continued. "He came to feed birds with me yesterday."

"He did? "Kaoru asked. Yahiko could detect suspicion in her voice.

"Oh, yes," Tsubame said softly, sounding a little embarrassed. "He is not very good at feeding birds, but I think it was very sweet of him to come along."

"Hey, what are you two talking about?" came a deep, booming voice.

Yahiko bent down, half because his legs couldn't hold him up any longer, and half because he did not want Sano to see him.

"Oh, hi, Sano," Kaoru said. "Tsubame just stopped by for a visit. We were talking about how things were going at the Akebeko. Tsubame has had a lot of time off lately because of the slow business."

"It won't be slow for long," Sano said, chuckling. "I was just going to go down there right now to get some hot soup to eat. I'm low on dough right now, but I'm feeling pretty lucky today. I suspect I'll be filling my pockets with some poor loser's money at the gambling hall today. "

Kaoru muttered something that Yahiko couldn't hear.

"Hey, what did you say little missy?" Sano asked suspiciously.

"Well let's hope that 'luck' of yours doesn't run out too fast," Kaoru said. "I think you'll need a lot of it!"

She and Tsubame giggled. Sanosuke groaned.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, girls," he said gruffly. "I'll be back later."

Yahiko heard the door begin to open. He rushed over his previous spot and began practicing. He looked back at the door. Kaoru had called something out to Sano, to which he answered:

"Okay, I'll tell him."

Sanosuke closed the door behind him.

"Hey, Yahiko," he said.

"What is it?" Yahiko asked.

"Kaoru asked me to tell you to come back inside because it's really cold out here," Sanosuke replied. His face broke into a wild grin. "Your girl's inside waiting."

Yahiko's felt his cheeks heat up. Knowing that his face was red, he wanted Sanosuke to mistake that redness for anger.

"Shut up, Sano," Yahiko muttered. As he walked past Sano, he beat him across the back with his shinai.

"Ow!" Sanosuke exclaimed, turning around. His hands clenched into fist, but then he grinned wolfishly. "Ah-huh. A sign of shame?"

Yahiko ignored Sano's chuckles as he walked back into the house. Tsubame was just shrugging into her cloak. Her cheeks reddened a little at the sight of him.

"Oh, hello Little-" The look on Yahiko's face silenced her, but only momentarily.

"-Little Yahiko," she said, her face becoming cheerful. "How was your training?"

"It was okay," Yahiko said. He waited. "You're leaving already?"

"Yes," Tsubame said. Her eyes locked with his. Yahiko's face reddened. Tsubame's smile widened. "I have to help Tae with work at the Akebeko. Good-bye, Kaoru. Good-bye... Little Yahiko."

With that Tsubame rushed through the door. As soon as it was evident that she was fully gone, Kaoru collapsed to the floor, wracked with uncontrollable laughter.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Yahiko asked, his face and neck becoming hot.

"It's just that- that- it's how your face looks! Ah-Ahahahaha!"

Yahiko groaned.

"Well, I don't act as ugly as you claim I look, like _some_ people I know," Yahiko said, turning his back on the giggling Kaoru. Behind him, he heard Kaoru struggling to get up. She took a few deep breaths, and then spoke calmly.

"So that is where you were yesterday," she said. "That's also why you would not tell me. Oh, Yahiko, you really are a sweet little _boy_!"

With another groan, Yahiko walked into the kitchen to escape Kaoru's laughter.

Kenshin was there, washing the floor. He looked up at Yahiko. He was, of course, struggling to hide his amusement.

"WHAT DOES EVERYONE THINK IS SO FUNNY?" Yahiko yelled out, irritated.

He stormed out of the kitchen, and out of the house. He was going to take a hot bath in the bathhouse. That would ease his nerves.

Meanwhile, Kaoru was walking into the kitchen, still unsteady from her laughter. Kenshin was on his knees on the floor, wiping it clean. Kenshin looked up at her with an amused smile.

"I think we really upset Yahiko," Kenshin said, a hint of laughter in his voice. "Do you hear him? He's probably going to bring the bathhouse down with his yells."

Kaoru giggled.

"I suppose it isn't very nice to make fun of Yahiko like this, but I can't help it!" she said. Kenshin laughed with her.

They lay down on the floor for a few minutes, laughing until they could laugh no more. When her laughter stopped, Kaoru looked deep into Kenshin's violet eyes. They looked really happy- for once there was no hint of regret in them. Instead there was a look of happiness and true contentment that rarely entered into them. Kenshin stopped smiling, and looked at her back, his eyes slightly surprised. A look of such regret and pain came to his face that Kaoru almost wanted to cry. Is this how he is, everyday? Always so regretful and sad? He always has that look in his eyes. Like he is trying to be happy and cheerful when there is pain locked up inside him. Why does he always have to blame everything bad that happens on himself_?_

Kenshin's face broke into a sudden smile. That smile never touched those eyes, though.

"I suppose I had better finish wiping this floor," Kenshin reached for the cloth again. Kaoru touched his hand. He looked up at her, startled.

"You should laugh more, Kenshin," Kaoru said, quietly. "It does good for your soul."

Kenshin nodded slightly.

"I will try, Miss Kaoru, that I will," he said softly.

Kaoru nodded back. There was a long moment of silence. Kaoru stood, looking herself over. She forced a smile, though unreleased tears stung her eyes.

"I believe I got my kimono a bit wet," she said, her chest tightening with the lie. "I better go and change."

Kenshin gave her a numb nod.

She forced herself to tear her eyes away from Kenshin, then rushed out of the dojo.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Yahiko awoke one morning, shivering violently despite his blankets. He should have taken Kaoru's offer and slept in front of the warmth of the fireplace in the house. He wrapped himself up in his blankets, and stood up, his lips shaking as he put his feet into his slippers. He bravely brought one hand from under his blankets to open the door of his room. He gasped as a rush of freezing wind nearly threw him off balance. After the moment of pain was over, Yahiko gasped again. Snow was falling. _SNOW!_ And at this time of year!

Yahiko rushed out into the cold, carefully closing his door behind him. He began to walk the painful trip to the house. Even all wrapped in his blankets, the cold seeped through, so much so that he thought that perhaps even his bones were cold. As Yahiko walked, he saw a figure- he couldn't tell whether man or woman at first- running towards him. When the person got closer, he could tell that it was Kaoru. When she saw him she rushed over to him, wrapping an extra blanket that she'd been carrying around him.

"Yahiko!" she said, sounding somewhat relieved. "Hurry! We need to get back into the house before we are both frozen alive!"

Kaoru rushed him back into the house. It wasn't warm, well at least not yet.

Kenshin was busying himself by stirring the fire, and Sanosuke was leaning against the wall, his white jacket wrapped more tightly around him, and his hands safely warm in his pockets.

"So you didn't freeze to death," Sanosuke said, his face breaking into a grin at the sight of Yahiko. "Right when Kaoru woke up this morning and looked out the window... well, you know what happened."

Yahiko shrugged out of his extra blankets and sat down in front of the fire.

Kenshin finished stirring and put the stick down.

"Well, thanks to you, Yahiko, we have enough logs to last us a long time,"

Kaoru said with a wolfish grin on her face.

"Hey, no problem," Yahiko said, smiling a little. Oh, it did feel so much better in front of the fireplace.

"That just means that you need to listen to me more," Kaoru said smugly.

"The snow's definitely not going to stop for a while, so I guess we're stuck here," Sanosuke said.

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about, Sano," Kaoru said. "I am fully prepared for this. I thought this might happen, so yesterday I sent Kenshin to the store to buy tofu. We have enough to last us for days."

Yahiko and Sanosuke groaned in unison.

"Why couldn't you have just asked him to buy fish?" Sano complained. "We could have kept it fresh. There's plenty of ice outside."

"Well," Kaoru said, putting her hands indignantly on her hips. "Because you, Yahiko, and Kenshin are such deadbeats, we can't just buy fish any time! If you guys want fish, then go buy some! But the money's not coming from _me_, that's for sure! I pay for enough things in this dojo, and yet you three are being so ungrateful as to ask for fish? I can't _believe_ you guys! What do you think I do everyday…?"

Yahiko flinched with Kaoru's every word, as did Sano and Kenshin.

"But, Miss Kaoru-" Kenshin protested.

"No buts about it Kenshin!" Kaoru said firmly. "This conversation is over!"

With that Kaoru stormed into the kitchen.

Kenshin sat there, staring at Sanosuke like he had done something wrong.

"What?" Sanosuke finally said.

"Nothing," Kenshin said in a cool voice. "I simply noticed that you were the one who got Miss Kaoru upset, however much she released her anger on the rest of us."

"Well, if you want her to be happy, why don't you get a job?" Sanosuke asked dryly. "We'll see how long a scrawny guy like you lasts in the work force. I can get a job- but who needs one? I have all that I need right here in this dojo. It's not like Kaoru's going to kick us out or anything."

"I HEARD THAT," Kaoru said loudly from inside the kitchen.

Sanosuke grinned mischievously.

"Kenshin's got a point, you know," Yahiko said without turning to Sano. "It is always you who gets Kaoru mad."

"Hey, who's talking?" Sanosuke said sarcastically. "So far as I can see you and Kenshin are always the ones who are making her mad!"

"Oh, please," Yahiko said.

He felt a sudden whack on the head.

"Hey!" Yahiko flipped around, still rubbing his head.

"That's for last week and today," Sanosuke said. There was anger and amusement in his voice.

Yahiko groaned angrily.

"Quit it, you moron," he said.

"Can't you three stay out of trouble long enough for breakfast to be cooked?"

Kaoru called out from the kitchen. "If all you have to do is fight then maybe you can help me. Ken-_SHIN!_"

Kenshin jumped up.

"Yes, Miss Kaoru?"

"I need some help with the dishes," Kaoru replied. "Yahiko, the table needs wiping! The floor is a little dusty so maybe you can sweep, too."

Yahiko groaned. Sanosuke leaned back, a content look on his face.

"Well, looks like there's nothing left for me to do," he said, smirking as Yahiko stood up to go.

"Your day will come," Yahiko said as he walked reluctantly into the kitchen.

Breakfast was finished not too long after Yahiko had finished sweeping. He sat down with the others to eat. He wrinkled his nose at the tofu and the burnt rice balls.

"Sorry," Kaoru said as she came to sit down with the rest of them. "The rice balls got a little burnt."

"Humph," Sanosuke made a sarcastic sound. "A little burnt?"

"I didn't see _you_ in the kitchen to help with the cooking, did I, Sanosuke?"

"My help wasn't nee-" Sanosuke began.

Just then, there was knock on the door.

"Now just who might that be?" Kenshin asked. "Isn't it still snowing outside?"

"Oh, I guess I'll get it," Yahiko said, sighing. "The food isn't so good that I can't wait to eat it, now is it?"

Yahiko got up from the table and hurried over to the door. The knocking increased in urgency.

"All right, already!" Yahiko muttered irritably. Yahiko pulled the door open quickly, ready to give an angry remark to whomever could be bothering them for little reason.

When he opened the door, Tae stood there, and despite how well she was bundled up she still looked cold.

"Tae?" Yahiko asked, blinking.

"Yes, it's me," Tae said, standing on the tips of her toes so she could look beyond Yahiko's small frame. She seemed worried and preoccupied.

"Oh, hello Tae," came Kaoru's cheery voice behind them. "Do come in. You must be freezing out there."

Yahiko stepped out of the way so that Tae could come in and he shut the door behind her.

"Is something wrong?" Kenshin asked as he entered the room.

"Yes, I'm a look'in for Tsubame," Tae said. "Have ya' seen her?"

"No, not at all," Kaoru said. "She came here about a week ago. That was it. Has something happened to her?"

"I- I don't know," Tae said, biting her lip. "She was with me just last night, but when I went to wake her up this morning she was gone."

"You mean Tsubame's missing?" Yahiko asked, suddenly becoming worried.

"Yes," Tae said as she looked at Yahiko for a moment. "It seems like that's the case. I asked some of my neighbors to keep an eye open for her, but because of the snow it's impossible for them to go and look for her."

"They can at least do something!" Yahiko cried, growing angry.

"I'm afraid not, Yahiko," Kenshin said gravely "It's too dangerous to search for her while it's snowing like this."

What? Too dangerous! Tsubame's life was important! Because of their caution and care for their own life, they lost care for someone else's!

"I- I'm-" Yahiko began, his hands clenching into fists.

Yahiko felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, startled. Kenshin was looking down at him, sympathy evident in his purple eyes. He was shaking his head.

"No, Yahiko," he whispered. "It's too dangerous. Tsubame would not want you to perish looking for her, that she would not."

Yahiko looked down, a wave of sorrow and frustration coming over him.

"I promise that we'll let you know if we see Tsubame," Kaoru was saying. "Thank you so much," Tae said, gratitude evident in her voice. "I don't know what I'll do without her."

As Yahiko sat in front of the fireplace, Tae's words still rang in his ears. I don't know what I'll do without her... Yahiko felt like crying. Why couldn't Sano and Kenshin just let him go look for her? Yahiko suddenly remembered Kenshin's words. Tsubame would not want you to perish looking for her, that she would not...

"Yahiko, how long are you going to stay like this?" Kaoru asked softly. She walked up to him. "You act as though you've lost all hope. That's not the Yahiko I know."

Yahiko sighed.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied gruffly. "Did I ask you for advice?"

Surprisingly, Kaoru gave him a big smile.

"She's fine," she said. "You know that. Kenshin's going to start looking for her as soon as the weather improves a little." Kaoru walked to the window. "It will be no time before we find Tsubame. She'll be back safe and sound before you know it."

Yahiko nodded in raw determination.

"Yeah- before I know it," he said.

After sitting in front of the fireplace a few more minutes, Yahiko got up and walked into the kitchen. Sano was the only one there.

"Hey, little boy," Sanosuke said, ruffling Yahiko's hair. "I saw you sitting by the fireplace looking so down that I'd thought someone had died."

Yahiko lifted Sanosuke's hand off his head.

"Thanks for the compliment," he said dryly.

"You're thinking about running off to rescue Tsubame, aren't you, little Yahiko?" Sanosuke asked.

"So, what if I am?" Yahiko said, his eyes flashing to red as he looked at Sano. "Where's Kenshin, anyway?"

"He decided to 'step out'," Sanosuke said with a grin. "He's the kinda guy who likes pain, I guess."

There was an odd silence between the two.

"Hey, kid, it's disgusting to see you like this," Sano said, finally. "You're acting like a zombie or something. Don't you trust in Kenshin's judgment, at least?" Yahiko ignored the comment. "Hey, maybe if you listened more, you'd learn something."

"It's you who doesn't listen to anyone!" Yahiko exploded in sudden fury. "Why don't you just shut up and mind your own business? Or maybe you don't have anything else to do but go around bothering people!"

Sanosuke put his hands casually into his pockets.

"Maybe I'm trying to say that I can understand what you're going through," he said. Yahiko looked up at him with a puzzled look.

"We're going to find the girl, all right?" Sano said reassuringly.

Yahiko didn't say anything in reply. He wanted to believe it, but he was uncertain. In the end he just decided to concede that Sano was right.

With a sigh, Yahiko turned to the window. The snow would be over by tomorrow...

It wasn't.

One day passed, and yet another. Yahiko's sleep was ruined by worrying over Tsubame, but even more by hearing Kaoru snore. Yahiko checked outside everyday, yet so far there was no sign of the missing girl. Later, on the evening of the second day, Yahiko stood, looking glumly outside the window.

"Yahiko, you haven't eaten anything for two days now," Kaoru said, her voice sounding slightly worried.

"The food isn't that bad," Sano said through a mouthful of lo mien.

"I'm not very hungry right now," Yahiko said. "Maybe I'll eat something later."

"You haven't slept much either," Kenshin said. "I think you should take Miss

Kaoru's advice and eat something."

"Yes," Kaoru said. "Kenshin's right. If you don't eat, you'll get sick."

Yahiko started stirring his food glumly. He took a few bites. It tasted even worst than usual. He got up from the table and left, despite Kenshin and Kaoru's combined protests.

I'm going to rescue her. Yahiko thought firmly. I won't let anything happen to her. The snow will definitely be over by tomorrow- I can tell. I'm leaving, no matter what Kenshin says! I can do this. Yahiko reached into the closet and took out some blankets. He searched around the place for a knife. He found one, and it was the perfect size and shape. He hid it in his shirt.

That night, when he was certain everyone was asleep, he grabbed up the blankets.

He cast a sidelong look at Kenshin. He's definitely still awake.

"Hey, Kenshin," Yahiko whispered. "Are you still awake?"

Yahiko waited.

"Yes," Kenshin said in a low voice. "Sleep does not come easy for me."

The shape that was known to be Kaoru moved a little. A loud snore erupted from the bundle.

"Kaoru snores like an ox," Yahiko said.

"I would not put it so colorfully," Kenshin said, sounding a little embarrassed.

"If all women snored like she does, there would be no Japan," Yahiko said. "I hope she doesn't do that every night." Yahiko waited.

"Most likely not," Kenshin said. "She has been especially stressed out these days." I hope not over me. Yahiko lay back to think. The snow's already at least a foot high. Yahiko's eyes wandered to the blazing fire. Tsubame's probably cold right now. What happened to her? Then a thought came into Yahiko's head. Could- could it be? Would someone want to hurt Tsubame just because they know she and I are friends, and because I'm Kenshin's friend? Yahiko sat straight up.

"Someone's kidnapped Tsubame," he whispered to himself.

"Not so, Yahiko," Kenshin whispered to him. "Tae said that there was no sign of break-in, and that Tsubame's cloak was gone, don't you remember? I think Tsubame got up and left willfully."

"But, why?" Yahiko asked in a confused voice.

"I do not know," Kenshin said thoughtfully. "But tomorrow, we will see, that we will."

"You're going to town tomorrow?" Yahiko asked.

"Hmm, yes," Kenshin said. "Now, I suggest you stop worrying and get some rest."

"I will," Yahiko said, closing his eyes again. Before he knew it, he was sound asleep...

* * *

**Authoress Note 10/28/09:**

This chapter exemplifies everything that I hate when I go back and read my writing from my earlier years. The idea that Kenshin and Sanosuke wouldn't go after a defenseless 10 year-old girl, just because of heavy snow, is pretty ridiculous. Looking back, my stories have always had illogical mistakes like this when I was too young to think clearly. Even everyday heroes without Kenshin and Sano's ridiculous levels of endurance are willing to risk their lives to rescue someone else. In fact, in conditions such as these it is imperative that people be rescued as quickly as possible, as death from hypothermia may be imminent.

Additionally, I deleted an exchange between Sanosuke and Yahiko, where Sanosuke called Yahiko selfish for sulking and worrying about Tsubame, supposedly "acting like you're the only one concerned." Even when it comes to one of my most popular stories, _Shattered Glass Can Glisten, Too, _I've noticed horrendous cases of misplaced, unjust blame of the main character. My love of torturing the protagonist has been taken too far in some cases, and this might be another example. Keeping the supporting characters from acting like complete jerks is something I need to watch out for in the future.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Yahiko's eyes opened. Light poured in from all the windows, and the room around him was completely empty. He rubbed his eyes and squinted from the brightness.

When he recovered, he realized there were no speckled shadows portrayed on the walls. But that meant...

Yahiko jumped out of bed and rushed to the window. A smile quickly appeared on his face. The snow had finally stopped, and the world was covered in a white brighter than he could have ever imagined. Snow lined the tall trees around the dojo, and roofs far in the distance were decorated with the crystal-like flakes.

"You're finally awake," came a female voice behind Yahiko. He twisted slowly around. Kaoru stood there in one of her most beautiful kimonos, blue with decorative pink flowers near the bottom, and streaks of pink and yellow across the chest. Yahiko grinned, a mischievous thought coming into his mind.

"Kaoru?" he asked in mock-surprise. "Is that you? Gosh! What did you do to yourself?"

"You really have no sense of appreciation at all," Kaoru said, folding her arms in front of her chest defiantly and pouting at him. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to decorate this kimono?"

"Oh," Yahiko said in mock understanding. "That's why it looks like that." Kaoru's cheeks turned ruby-red with anger.

"Why you little-" she began.

Yahiko avoided her by turning calmly and looking out the window.

"Kenshin left already, didn't he?" Yahiko said.

Kaoru calmed down.

"Yes," she replied. "He left a long time ago. It's already almost noon."

"_WHAT!_" Yahiko exclaimed, turning to Kaoru. "I didn't sleep that long, did I?"

Kaoru nodded, a content smile on her face.

"You should have seen yourself, drooling- HEY! Where are you going?" Kaoru exclaimed.

"Sano didn't eat everything, did he?" Yahiko asked as he rushed into the kitchen.

"No, I made him save some for you," Kaoru said.

Yahiko breathed out a sigh of relief. Yahiko rushed back out of the kitchen and pushed his feet into his slippers.

"Hey, what's the rush all of the sudden?" Kaoru asked. "You could hardly move yesterday."

"I have to hurry up and wash up so that I can eat, of course," Yahiko said. "I'm starving."

"What!" she said, surprised. "You just..."

"Yeah, yeah," Yahiko said. "A guy needs to eat some of the time, you know."

He grabbed up the blankets and rushed out the door. Kenshin's gone, and so is Sano. I have my chance. Yahiko thought to himself.

"Yahiko! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get a hot bath!" Yahiko called to her before shutting the door behind him. I've got to hurry and get ready. Yahiko thought frantically as he rushed to the bathhouse.

Fifteen minutes later, Yahiko had everything ready. He wasn't going to get a bath yet though. He pulled the knife out of his shirt.

"Okay, here it goes," he said, as he began cutting. It's not going to look too good, but it should keep me pretty warm. Yahiko began cutting a hole in the blanket.

It wasn't easy- the blanket was kinda thick. After a while, it became easier, though. When he was done, he mentally measured, then began cutting the second hole. That was for his second arm.

"Okay," Yahiko said contently as he tried the "coat" on. The armholes were too small! Worse, it was too long, and there was too much room between the "collar" and the armholes.

"Oh great," Yahiko said. "I have to cut even more."

So, Yahiko started his work again. He took his time, carefully working. Last of all, he cut a strip of blanket for a belt to keep the coat on. When he tried it on again, the sleeve holes were a little big, and the belt was too short, but otherwise, it fit pretty well.

"All right!" Yahiko yelled excitedly. "I'm finally almost ready."

"Yahiko? Are you okay in there?" came Kaoru's worried voice.

"Uh, YEAH!" Yahiko said quickly. "I think I just made the- uh- water- uh- too hot!"

Whew! That was a close one. Yahiko thought. He quickly stripped down and got into the tub. He flinched. He actually did make the water too hot.

"Ah," Yahiko said, beginning to relax in the warmth of the water. "There's nothing like a hot bath."

He quickly bathed, re-dressed, and made a new belt. He rushed out of the bathhouse and back to the dojo.

A few minutes later, Yahiko was stuffing his face with Kaoru's cooking. He was so hungry; he almost forgot how bad it tasted. I've got to hurry. Yahiko thought, hurriedly gulping down another bite of food. It went down the wrong hole, and

Yahiko went into a fit of coughing. Kaoru patted his back firmly.

"Hey, slow down or you'll choke to death," she said, sounding a little amused.

Yahiko finally managed to swallow the food properly, and spoke.

"You don't think I can die that easily, do you?" Yahiko asked, giving Kaoru a mischievous grin. She ruffled his spiky black hair.

"Looks like the old Yahiko Myoujin is back," Kaoru replied.

Yahiko pushed Kaoru's hand off his head.

"Yeah, yeah," Yahiko said. "Just keep your hands to yourself."

After Yahiko had finished eating, Kaoru spoke.

"I think I'm going to follow your example and take a hot bath myself," she said,

rubbing her knuckles. "My joints are so stiff."

Yahiko's heartbeat quickened. The coat was still there!

"Uh, wait!" he cried, quickly standing up.

Kaoru looked at him.

"I left my shinai in there," Yahiko lied. "Be right back."

He rushed out the door before Kaoru could say another word. He grabbed up the "coat" that he had made, and the belt. He covered them with another unused blanket. He rushed over to his room, hoping that Kaoru wouldn't see him. He tossed the blankets on his futon and grabbed up his shinai. He rushed back over to the bathhouse. Kaoru was standing there, looking at him suspiciously.

"What's going on, Yahiko?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?" Yahiko asked.

"This isn't where your shinai was, at all," Kaoru said. "It was in your room all along, wasn't it? I think I deserve some answers."

"All right," Yahiko said, preparing a lie. "If you insist on it, Ugly. I had thought I left my shinai in here. All there that was here were a bunch of blankets. I was going to use them later, so I dropped them off in my room."

"And?" Kaoru asked, folding her arms even more tightly in front of her chest.

"What's this?" she asked, holding out the knife she had been holding in her hand.

Yahiko's heart raced. What now? Yahiko waited. Kaoru waited too, her eyes burning with fury.

"How am I supposed to know where that came from?" Yahiko retorted, hoping that he was showing a good imitation of anger. "Kenshin probably used it to cut some vegetables or something."

Kaoru glared at Yahiko. He glared back, though nervousness was what he was really feeling inside. Yahiko's heart was beating so hard that his chest was starting to hurt.

"Get out," Kaoru muttered angrily.

"Why should I?" Yahiko retorted.

"Because I'm going to get a bath, stupid!" Kaoru said, turning her back on him. The butterflies flew right out of Yahiko's stomach, and cool relief settled in. He walked out of the bathhouse. As soon as he was out, he breathed out a heavy sigh of pure relief.

"Sheesh," Yahiko said. "Kaoru is way too nosy. I've got to get out of here, fast."

Yahiko stormed all the way to his room, still pretending fury in case Kaoru was still watching. Yahiko went into his room, and waited. He waited for exactly the moment when Kaoru would most likely begin to relax and temporarily forget all about their argument. That moment came. Yahiko quickly slipped into the coat and tied it together with the cloth belt. He tied his sword sheath onto his back and then put the shinai in it. He slipped out of his room and used trees and buildings to hide himself as he slowly walked closer to the gate that led out of the dojo.

After what seemed like forever, Yahiko finally reached the gate. He unlocked it, and looked once more at the dojo he was leaving behind.

"Kaoru's going to go crazy when she finds out that I'm gone," Yahiko said to himself. "But I'll go crazy if I don't do this."

With those words, Yahiko slipped silently out of the dojo. He took a deep breath, ready to confront the world of white in order to find Tsubame.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

When Kaoru saw the footsteps in the snow leading to the gate, she knew that she was already too late. However, she still held onto the hope that maybe she could catch Yahiko while he was still just leaving. She rushed over to the gate, suddenly beginning to shiver in the cold air.

"Yahiko!" she called, looking over the gate and all around. "Yahiko! Come back here, you stupid little boy! Yahiko Myoujin, come back this instant! I know you can hear me!" Kaoru became frustrated, and tears nearly erupted from her dark blue eyes. Then suddenly, she had an idea. She called at the top of her lungs. "Hey, _LITTLE YAHIKO!_"

Kaoru waited, apprehension making her heart beat hard in her chest. She waited longer. Kaoru's face fell when she was answered only by the whistling wind.

She had no choice but to wait for Kenshin and Sanosuke to return, hoping that Yahiko had bumped into them and they would bring him home.

Kaoru walked slowly back into the dojo. Maybe she could let out some steam by practicing. She grabbed up her wooden sword- instead of her bamboo one, the shinai- and began practicing. She closed her eyes, beginning to combine all her emotions into the slash. Kaoru suddenly blushed. What was happening to her? When she thought of combining her love... She didn't really love Kenshin yet, did she? She liked him a lot... Kaoru re-focused her concentration. I know this one thing for certain. If anything happens to Kenshin or Yahiko, and even Sanosuke, the rooster head... That gave her the extra motivation she needed. Kaoru let out a powerful yell as she brought up her bokken. Her eyes burst open as she brought it down. The power ruffled her darkish bangs and caused a loud swish sound in the air. Kaoru smiled smugly. She suddenly felt relaxed. A feeling of peace overwhelmed her. All her worried emotions over Yahiko had added into the air with that hit, but only momentarily. She gritted her teeth.

"When you get back Yahiko Myoujin, I will give you a piece of my mind!" Kaoru said, slashing once more. She imagined herself bonking Yahiko on the head, and him bending under the hit, eyes wide, face red with...

The sound of the gate opening brought Kaoru out of her daydream. She flipped around.

"...seems like the girl disappeared without a trace," a deep male voice was saying. "She's not anywhere around town, so she must've wandered off into the forest somewhere." It was Sanosuke's voice that Kaoru was hearing.

"We will have to inform Miss Kaoru of this and then go off to look for her in another location," Kenshin replied. Then he turned and noticed Kaoru standing there.

"Why hello, Miss-"

"Have you seen Yahiko?" Kaoru asked frantically.

Kenshin's cheerful expression was replaced by one of concern.

"No, not at all," he replied. "We just came back from town. We didn't find Tsubame-"

Sanosuke smashed his right fist into his left palm in exasperation.

"I knew he'd do something stupid like this!" Sanosuke exclaimed. "I knew it all along."

"I was so stupid that I let him slip right out from under my nose," Kaoru said, slapping her in the forehead.

"So, Yahiko is missing," Kenshin said grimly. "That means we have two people to look for, now. And it is mostly my fault for making such a mistake of not keeping an eye on both."

Kaoru's breath caught. Why does he always have to blame himself?

"Kenshin, none of this is your fault," Kaoru said, looking at him. "You don't have eyes in the back of your head, you know."

"I would make a joke about that, but we don't really have much time to waste," Sanosuke said impatiently. "Yahiko and his girl are out there somewhere and it's are job to find them."

"Absolutely," Kaoru said firmly. She looked at Kenshin again. With his clothes he would freeze to death, even though the weather seemed to be improving.

"Kenshin, I'm sorry I don't have enough money to buy you a cloak to wear, but I'm sure I have something for you to wear right here around the dojo." Kaoru blushed as Kenshin eyes turned to her. "I'm not miracle sewer but maybe I can make something for you."

Kenshin gave her a small smile that enlightened his eyes with tinges of blue. The smile was a grateful smile, yet the smile said that he thought he was in some way unworthy of her kindness. He said nothing, looking at her with that smile until her cheeks began to heat.

"Hey, isn't that enough just standing around gazing at each other for one day?" Sano said, sounding amused. Kaoru tore her eyes away quickly, and Kenshin began fidgeting around. "We've got to hurry up and get ready so that we can help Yahiko, remember?"

"Right!" Kaoru said, quickly becoming alert. "I better go-" she looked at Kenshin once more and slowed down, giving him a happy smile. "-find something for Kenshin." She turned to Sano, her face becoming more serious. "I'll have to find something for you, too, Sano. If you weren't so tall-"

"Hey, watch your mouth little missy," Sanosuke said, hunching down from his proud position to glare down at her. "Don't complain about my height. I happen to be pretty contented person. Besides, you don't actually think that I need anything, do you?" Sanosuke gave her a wry grin. He elbowed Kenshin's shoulder. "You should look after Kenshin- you seem to think he can't live without you, or something."

Kaoru's cheeks heated up.

"If I were you I'd be quiet," she mumbled, approaching him, white-hot fury burning in her veins. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Kenshin take a few steps back.

"Hey, take it easy little missy," Sanosuke said, lifting his hands in a defensive gesture. "I was just joking."

"Yeah, and so am I," Kaoru said, aiming a punch at his jaw. Sano swiftly grabbed her wrist. She punched with the other and he grabbed that, too. She tried to fight him, yelling curses at him to let her go and fight like a man. He grinned at Kenshin- he actually grinned- and Kenshin just shrugged.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yahiko was well into his journey. He searched everywhere, scanning the snow-covered ground carefully for any footprints or any sign of anything that belonged to Tsubame. He hadn't found anything so far. Suddenly, a sharp, wispy wind blew past him, driving a deep chill into his bones. He pulled his makeshift cloak around him more tightly. He clenched his hand into a fist.

I'll find her. He thought furiously. I know I'll find her. Yahiko looked around him. There were trees everywhere, and branches littered the ground. They had simply been unable to hold the burden of the snow and ice that lay on top of them.

Yahiko flipped around as a loud cracking sound split the air. He looked above him and let out a cry. He tried to get out of the way, put it was too late. The branch hanging right above his head separated from the tree, and began its quick fall downward. Yahiko quickly covered his head with his hands. He felt an impact- an impact so hard that it knocked him right to the ground. He flinched as his face touched the freezing field of white. He groaned a little. That branch falling on him had hurt. He wriggled out from under it, nearly cutting his hands on some of the twigs that were already down there. He let out a deep, shaking breath as he stood up. He did not think anything was broken, and that was a good thing. He might have become stranded and then...

"That's stupid thinking," Yahiko rebuffed himself firmly. "I'm not going to be a coward. Let's go!" Yahiko stood up straight, forcing himself to be brave. I'll find you. I swear it.

Yahiko walked along, peeking between the many trees. He stepped over roots.

He very nearly tripped on one, nearly tearing his slipper. That brought back a memory- the memory of how he'd first met Tsubame...

Yahiko had been sword practicing. He visualized the board before him, imagined that it was not a board, but a man- a bad man who wanted to cause mayhem in Tokyo and harm the people he cared about. Yahiko slashed at the board, letting out a courageous yell. Unfortunately, he missed the man, and fell flat on his face.

"Umph," he said.

Yahiko got up quickly and repositioned himself. He tried again. Once again he did not hit the target, and nearly fell again. He kept trying though, he hit the board, and it swung wildly. Just as a wave of triumph washed over him, he felt a strong impact on the right side of him that pushed him down hard. He groaned. The board had swung back and hit him! He kept on trying. Once again he fell. He turned around, only to see a girl before him. She was handing something to him.

"Here," she said in a soft voice. Yahiko blinked. His shoe...

"But that's my-" embarrassed, he snatched the slipper away. It must've flown off of his foot in the heat of the moment. He tried to put it back on, but something was wrong.

"The strap," the girl said.

"Huh?" Yahiko asked, confused.

"The strap," the girl repeated. "It's broken."

Yahiko let out a small gasp as the girl took the red fabric she was holding, and brought it slowly to her mouth. Her teeth- the whitest, most perfect teeth Yahiko had ever seen in his life- clamped onto the fabric, and her hand, slim and graceful, pulled. Yahiko did not know why he was looking, but he could not take his eyes away from her. Her chin length, brown hair moved slightly as she tore the red fabric, her blue eyes slightly glistening in the bright sunlight. Before Yahiko knew it, she had torn a perfect strip from the red fabric. His eyes widened as she took his shoe. He watched intently as she gently, yet firmly, repaired the shoe strap. She gave him a cheerful smile as she handed it back to him. He didn't remember his hand taking the slipper from her, but he must have, because he remembered wearing that slipper later that same day.

"Sorry for interrupting you," she said. Her voice might have sounded highly pitched to some people, but to Yahiko, it sounded like a bird singing.

"Good luck with your training."

With that the girl stood up, giving him a last smile that made him warm inside. She walked hurriedly away, her bangs bouncing up and down as she went. Yahiko's eyes followed her as her shape disappeared down the path- until he had to strain his eyes to see her. Even then he couldn't stop looking in that direction. After that, he knew that she was...

Yahiko shook himself out of his daydream. He had to hurry up and find her! Yahiko continued his long walk, his feet making gentle slish-slosh sounds in the soft snow. He stopped, pausing to study some footsteps. Those had to be Tsubame's- something told him so. He walked along side them, careful not to blot them out with his own. He continued, apprehension making his heartbeats quicker. Would these lead him to Tsubame? What would she be like? Would she be all right? Thoughts flooded Yahiko's head as he trudged on, eager, yet somewhat afraid to move on. Suddenly he realized he was running- he was calling her name. He skidded to a stop and looked downward, this time carefully.

The footsteps were gone. He looked behind him. They had stopped a foot away, behind a tree root. Could she have climbed a tree? Yahiko looked at them all, too frantic to think. If a person, or even an animal, had chased her up into a tree that meant she was in danger, if she wasn't... Yahiko squeezed his eyes shut in a vain effort to control his frenzied mind. What was going on? How could Tsubame- how could any girl disappear like this?

* * *

**Authoress Note 10/28/09:**

My exasperation at my younger, dumber self continues again as I read this chapter. I had to delete something else again. Originally, when Sanosuke and Kenshin are returning to the dojo, they mention having stopped in town to by some food. That was just too much. I really try not to mess around with my older stories _too_ so that I can have a nice view of my former writing, but I just couldn't leave that alone.

I did leave the part about Kaoru making a cloak for Kenshin, because…

_With his clothes he would freeze to death, even though the weather seemed to be improving._

Yet, Tsubame wouldn't, so it was all right to wait _two days _to go looking for her? Would someone please explain to me how that makes any sense at all?

Then on top of that, there's Sanosuke refusing a cloak because of this,

"_Besides, you don't actually think that I need anything, do you?"_

Grrr. That was my point in the last authoress note exactly.

Mental note to self: Stop making characters do lame, illogical things.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"I h-have a b-bad f-f-feel about all off th- this," Sanosuke said, pulling his white coat more tightly around himself. "Wh- where c-c-could they have g- gone?"

"And I have a bad feeling about how you are going to suffer through this trip," Kaoru Kamiya said dryly. "I offered you a coat more than once, and you refused."

Right now, Kaoru was fully happy. She was absolutely confident that their search would be fruitful, and the pair of children would be found in no time at all. Actually, she would be both of the previously mentioned things, if it weren't for Sanosuke Sagara's teeth-chattering and shivering. She was genuinely worried about him, but she couldn't, and wouldn't say that it wasn't completely his fault that he was in the miserable state that he was right now. Kaoru was wearing an old, rugged looking brownish-green cloak. It was meant for a boy, but it fit her pretty well. If it weren't for it being so worn, it would actually look nice. She was warm, and so was Kenshin, who was walking on her left side, scanning the area perfectly with his purple eyes. He wore a bright blue cloak. It was actually in perfect shape, except that the sleeves were a bit too short and it sagged everywhere. It was not his size at all. It was meant for a chubby, short little boy who'd trained in Kaoru's dojo for only a few weeks before giving up. Kenshin was not chubby at all- on the contrary. It would have looked even bigger on him had she not adjusted it a little. Kaoru had sewn it up around the shoulders- she might have made them a little too tight, but it would do- and she had adjusted the hood. She added a little length to the edge, for it had been too short. Even now it still was. She had sewn it up in a few other places, but it still looked too big. She still felt a bit embarrassed, having Kenshin walk around in something like that, but she wasn't about to let her embarrassment show.

Kaoru glanced at Sano again. She was starting to worry over him. Why did he always have to be so stubborn? However bad Kenshin's cloak might look, at least he wasn't shivering so hard he might die from that alone.

"Sanosuke, maybe you should go back home and wait," Kaoru suggested. "They might have gone back to the dojo-"

All of the sudden Sanosuke was out of his miserable position and glaring down at her from his usual two feet above.

"Are you crazy!" he asked. "Do you think I would go back-" a sneeze caused a rift in his sentence. "would go- AH-CHOO!- back to that dojo and wait_?_ I'd rather have Kenshin beat me up again!"

Kenshin looked faintly embarrassed when he heard that one, but it faded as quickly as it had come.

"It's getting dark," Kenshin said absently. "I suppose we better make camp."

"B- but we were just getting c-closer to f-f-finding them!" Sanosuke protested.

"Yeah," Kaoru said with a snort. "And you were getting closer to dying."

"Must you always pick a fight with me?" Sanosuke said irritably.

Kaoru glared hard at him.

"I'm not the one picking a fight with you, you little-"

"Isn't that enough arguing for one day?" Kenshin asked a little nervously. "Why don't we all just enjoy the peace of the great outdoors?"

Kaoru and Sanosuke glared at Kenshin as though he had asked them to go commit suicide.

Kenshin's face reddened, and he put up his hands defensively.

"It was only a suggestion, nothing more," he said quickly. Kaoru felt her anger begin to cool- well, a little bit, at least. Sanosuke's face still looked angry, but his sudden about-to-sneeze expression ruined it all.

Kaoru took a few steps away from him.

"AHH... CHOOOOO!" Sanosuke's sneeze shook his tall, thin frame. He sniffled. Kaoru felt a little concerned, and the concern must have shown on her face, because a wry, easy-natured expression appeared on Sano's.

"Hey, don't worry so much about me, little missy," Sanosuke said, giving her a sly grin. "I've gone through worse stuff-" a small, more controlled sneeze interrupted him. "-Worse stuff than some little old cold like this one."

Kaoru nodded, but the knot of worry in her stomach wouldn't go away. She realized the Kenshin was looking at Sanosuke, too. He had a small smile on his face, but his eyes looked concerned and somewhat... guilty. What was wrong with Kenshin? He needed to stop blaming everything on himself. If Sano got a cold and refused to acknowledge that it was a bad one, then that was his own decision.

"I do agree with Kenshin, though," Kaoru said in an even, yet somewhat firm voice. "We should make camp. It's even colder at night than in the day, and who wants to be stumbling about in the dark? We'll... restart our search early tomorrow morning. Even before the sun comes up. W- we'll find them. We have to find them. That's the only possible outcome- them being found." Kaoru forced a little laugh. "Yahiko's so foolish sometimes. When I get my hands on him, I'll teach him a good lesson."

Silence prevailed. Where was Yahiko doing, now? An image of Yahiko formed in her head- he was not the Yahiko she knew. He was a cold, shivering boy curled up under a tree, desperately needing rescue. He looked so helpless, so alone. Kaoru realized she was muttering words under her breath, then she stopped. When she stopped, she found herself wringing her freezing hands. She started when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, and immediately found herself gazing into Kenshin's violet eyes. She saw something... soothing, there. She let herself see nothing but his eyes- let those eyes heal her broken spirit. However much she gazed into those eyes, she still noticed the soft, compassionate smile that turned up the corners of his mouth. As she continued to gaze at Kenshin, she felt a sudden urge to touch that brilliant red hair. No, she wanted to embrace Kenshin- she wanted to feel his heart beating next to hers. The urge was so great- couldn't she at least let her fingers touch- no, simply brush his cheek? She had some feeling- a feeling that even in this cold, if she touched that scarred cheek, that there would be... warmth, there.

A sudden AH-CHOO made Kaoru jump what seemed to be a foot in the air. Kenshin seemed startled, too. She felt his fingers tense as his hand quickly left her shoulder.

"Jeez, Kaoru," Sanosuke said, rubbing his nose. "It was only a sneeze. I can't help them sometimes, you know."

Kaoru felt her face grown warm. She frantically looked away from Sanosuke, and her eyes immediately fell on the sun. It was a quarter of the way below the horizon, and it was quickly turning from brilliant gold to faded orange.

"I suppose I better get everything ready," Kaoru said. "It's getting dark, fast."

"I hope you don't mind my asking, but what exactly did you bring for us to eat?" Sanosuke asked.

"Tofu, of course," Kaoru asked.

Sanosuke groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"I should have known," he complained.

Kenshin, as always, gave a small smile.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yahiko Myoujin was not having such a swell time.

Yahiko had tried his best to catch some fish to eat. He'd been in too much of a hurry to snatch away more than the makeshift cloak he was wearing and his shinai. He would never leave that behind, of course. If he'd been thinking, he would have gotten some rice balls, at least. Yahiko's stomach growled noisily. Goodness! He was even thinking about eating tofu.

"Oh, I guess tofu would be better than nothing," Yahiko growled.

Yahiko shook off his freezing, shaking hands and tucked his hands in for warmth as he folded his arms in front of his chest, frustrated and weary. Kenshin always made it look so easy. All he did was tie a string, with bait tied on to the end, onto a stick, and waited. Sometimes he did wait a long time, but not very long. Kenshin always caught fish when he went fishing. With his help, even little Ayame caught a fish. There was no need to mention that Suzume, her older sister, also caught fish. They all made it seem so easy! This was all Kenshin's fault. If only he hadn't made it look so simple. Yahiko forced himself to pick up his little makeshift fishing pole and try again. The sun was setting fast, and he'd been trying for more than an hour- _much_ more than an hour. Yahiko let out a missive sigh and tried to be patient. Maybe it was his fishing pole. He had a vine instead of a string, and a slightly crooked stick as his pole. Since he didn't have any bait, he had torn a small piece of cloth of his cloak. It had been hanging anyway. He'd just tied that on, stuck it in the water, and waited. It was not easy to wait so long. There didn't even seem to be any fish. He had seen one little one, scurry by, but he'd got overly excited and accidentally chased it away. Then another fish had gone by. At first, Yahiko had thought it was going to try and bite onto the little string, but it appeared to sniff a little, then scurried away. He had been angry then.

Now, as he tried once more, with little hope of catching anything. He waited, every now and then glancing at the sinking, now red sun. The sky was beautiful at dusk. It somehow reminded him of... Tsubame. She liked nature so much. She liked birds and animals, even though she was kind of frightened of some of them. Yahiko felt a little empty inside, thinking about her. It was such a pity she didn't have much time to herself to enjoy the things she liked most. Yahiko was swimming so deeply in his thoughts, that he barely noticed the slight tugging on his fishing pole. He cleared his thoughts completely so that he could concentrate on the fish. He watched it carefully, a contented smile twisting the corners of his mouth. The fish was chewing on the cloth and trying desperately to pull it off. After all the work Yahiko had done, he was not about to let the little fellow get away. He waited, concentrating; his eyes never left that fish. He waited tell exact moment- tell the fish least expected. He didn't have a hook, so he'd somehow have to fling the fish up out of the water. Could its teeth hold on? He didn't have time to think about that. With a loud yell he flung, and sure enough, his timing was right. He flung it right out of the water, it's fins going up and down wildly and it's body thrashing about as it flew through the air. It plopped down on the snow near the riverbank, thrashing so much that it nearly sprayed snow in Yahiko's eyes. So delighted was Yahiko that his plan had actually worked, he forgot that the fish was very close to the water's edge. It thrashing, jumping, and flew back in the water.

"Hey!" Yahiko snatched at the fish quickly, just barely grabbing it's tail fin. It squirmed out of his grasp, too slippery to hold unto, but he would not give it up. He reached down with his left hand and scooped it up. It slipped away from him again, but landed on the snow. Yahiko used his right hand to swat it far, far away from the water's edge. It lay a few feet away from him, squirming and thrashing like an angry child. Yahiko's shock could not overcome his joy for long, and soon, his face split into an ear-to-ear grin.

"Ha!" Yahiko said, just as the fish gave up it's thrashing. Yahiko crawled over to it, smiling down upon it mischievously. Its chest heaved up and down- it was still very much alive, but he had won the fight. "You though you could get away, did you? Not today, not ever."

Yahiko sat for a moment, happily dreaming of how he was going to cook the fish up for dinner. Didn't you have to gut them first? He didn't have a knife, so he'd have to find something sharp… maybe one of those rocks in the stream? Well, first things first, he had to make sure some bird didn't come and steal his fish, or that it would never get away. He crawled backwards, never taking his eyes off his prize. He reached into the freezing water and retrieved his fishing rod, which had been kept from washing away by some of the rocks in the stream. Yahiko then stood up, and walked over to the fish. It really still breathed, however haggard and labored those breaths were. He lifted the pole- it was spiky enough at the edge to drive the fish into the ground. Yahiko brought it down, but suddenly stopped, only and inch away from the fish's body. He... he couldn't kill it. Did he really feel sorry for it?

"You stupid old fish," Yahiko said, kicking it with a slippered foot. He didn't really mean it, though. He did feel sorry for the fish. He decided he'd have to carry it around with him while he went to get wood if he couldn't find a safe place for it.

By the time Yahiko had started the fire the sun had fully set. Darkness, with stars throughout it, looked more like sparkly blue blanket pulled over a sleeping sun. Yahiko warmed himself at the fire. He was getting really hungry- lonely, too. He wished he didn't have to kill that fish. He glanced at it, hoping it had already died. It had not- not quite. Yahiko forced himself to believe that the fish was going to die after all, and it was better for him to kill it rather than to let it suffocate. So he grabbed it in his hand, brought his knife- he'd made one out of some fallen wood by carving it with a sharp stone- and he began cutting. The fish thrashed so much, that he was forced to drop it on the cold, white snow. The perfect white ground was soon stained with red, and Yahiko felt sick to his very soul, but he had to do this. His sticky, bloody hands continued the work. He filed the fish carefully, and the sting in his eyes wasn't because of the smoke emitting from the hot fire.

By the time Yahiko finished gutting and slicing the fish, he despaired of even cooking it, but he did. He had little choice. He watched as the flame engulfed the... well, it was meat now, wasn't it? Yahiko took the time while it cooked to clean himself up. He washed his hands in the stream, but they didn't really feel totally cleansed. He even cleared away the red-stained snow. He sat down. The fish's flesh- no, he shouldn't think of it like that- the "meat" was almost burning by the time he was done. He carefully took the spits out of the fire.

He turned both over carefully in his hand, his lack of appetite very great as he looked them over. Images of a thrashing fish blurred his vision, yet he forced himself to take a bite- a big bite. He closed his eyes as he chewed. Tasteless. It was totally tasteless, and worse, it made his stomach twist. Maybe it was the way he was thinking of it? Yahiko very reluctantly took another bite. The bad feeling in his stomach was gone, at least. He took another. Hey, not bad. He took another. Was he actually starting to enjoy it?

By the time he'd taken his sixth bite, all thoughts of what the meat had once been disappeared from his mind. He gobbled it down, his old appetite quickly returning. He scarcely chewed as he ate the meat, so hungry he simply couldn't stop. Before Yahiko knew it, he was trying in vain to bite the last pieces of meat off the spit. He looked around him. There had to be more- he hadn't cooked it all, had he? He'd eaten it. He'd really eaten it. He'd caught a fish, gutted it, and cooked it all himself. It didn't seem such a bad thing anymore. He felt proud. He leaned back, strangely happy and contented at his fortune. When the fire started to dim, he stirred it with a skinny, yet strong stick he'd found somewhere.

"Ouch!" he cried, withdrawing his hand as a spark flew out and landed on his skin. He recovered quickly, though, nothing able to down his good spirits. He sighed happily.

"Life is good," Yahiko said. With a yawn, he folded his arms behind his head and laid down, a comfortable distance from the fire. It felt good to be warm again. Somehow, despite the sounds of wild nature around him, the way he relaxed in front of this blazing fire, reminded him of what it felt like to be back at the dojo- back at home. A stab of guilt shot through him. Everybody back home was probably worried about him. He wouldn't make them worry too long. He'd find Tsubame, and be back home quicker then they would ever imagine he could return.

With another yawn, Yahiko relaxed, closing his eyes. Before he realized it he had fallen into a deep slumber, his travels too much for him to handle.

* * *

Kaoru stirred from her bundle near the comforting warmth of the fire. She opened her eyes only to a crack, the light of the fire blinding her eyes momentarily. She had heard a noise. When her vision cleared, she saw Kenshin, sitting cross-legged in front of the dancing flames, his sakabato propped up next to him. She saw him reach down from with his hand a use a stick to stir the fire. Afterwards he tossed it in.

"Kenshin?"

That red-haired head flipped around, and Kenshin's familiar face regarded her with surprise. His purple eyes, which seemed to flash in the strange pattern of the dancing flames, looked regretful.

"I apologize for waking you, Miss Kaoru," Kenshin said, sounding deeply sorry.

Kaoru rubbed her eyes.

"It's alright," she said with a massive yawn. She slowly wriggled out of her blanket and sat down beside him. Her eyes stayed on the fire for a moment as she studied the leaping flames. Then she turned to Kenshin. His eyes were looking upward.

Wondering what he stared at, Kaoru looked in the same direction. A round, silver moon sat poised in the dark, starry sky.

"It's a full moon tonight," Kenshin said suddenly, startling Kaoru. She looked at him. He was smiling, now- that familiar smile that she could- would- recognize anywhere.

"Yes, it's beautiful," Kaoru replied, her eyes turning back to the sky.

"It's a good sign," Kenshin said. "That means our search will come to an end, soon."

They both remained silent for a moment, staring at the stars.

"Sano's sound asleep," Kaoru whispered, looking behind them.

Kenshin looked behind, too. Sanosuke stirred, groaning.

"I told you I don't want it," he mumbled, turning over.

Kaoru felt a grin creep onto her face. She looked at Kenshin. He seemed amused, though he was trying harder to hide it.

Once again, all traces of sadness and regret were gone from Kenshin's eyes. He was happy, again. She wished he were always like this. Kaoru's heart hurt when he abruptly turned away from her. His face looked somewhat troubled as he stared ahead. Kaoru reached out and put her hand on Kenshin's. He turned back to her, shock evident in his purple eyes. He always looked like that when she... touched him like this. She only squeezed his hand harder. His palm was callused from holding the sword, but it still felt somewhat smooth under hers.

"Kenshin," she began. His eyes seemed to see nothing but her. It made her more than a little embarrassed, but she continued. "I know everything's going to turn out all right. You said so yourself, remember?" Kenshin nodded, his eyes never leaving her. Kaoru helplessly let out a large yawn. "It's very late, Kenshin. You should get some rest."

With that, Kaoru crawled over to her spot on the ground, and covered herself with the blankets. Before she knew, her heavy eyelids were closing, and the world became entirely quiet around her.

Kenshin did not go to sleep, though. He looked incredulously at Kaoru, who was already snoring softly. Kenshin studied his hand- the hand she had touched so softly. It itched- it itched to feel that touch again. Her hand was so... soft. So delicate. Almost fragile, yet the firmness of that grip was so-

"I am not worthy," Kenshin said, forcing him to stop thinking of Kaoru. He shut his eyes, inhaling deeply. He opened them just as fast, though. He had seen Kaoru's face. He had seen the expression in those darkish blue eyes as she tried to reassure him. The way she had looked at him- the way she had spoken his name.

It made him feel as though... someone cared. It could not be, though. She did not feel for him in the way that he thought. It couldn't be!

"She's just a child," Kenshin whispered to himself, though he believed the sentence not a bit. Kaoru was a woman- in looks and character. She jumped to the needs of others and would put her own life on the line for her friends. Kenshin sighed. She would not even bother to protect herself. She would just rush into battle, concerned only for her friends...

Kenshin sighed again, glancing back at a sleeping Kaoru. She inhaled, exhaling a rush of foggy air. Kenshin gasped. His eyes turned back to the fire- or more specifically, what was left. Ashes. He hadn't at all before noticed the freezing, sharp wind that was now ruffling his hair. Had it blown out the fire? Kenshin eyes scanned the ground for more wood. There was none. He would have to get more. Throwing an extra blanket on Kaoru, he shrugged into his cloak and hurried off to get more wood, walking as silently as possible on the mushy snow.

* * *

**Authoress Note 10/28/09:**

I found myself strangely satisfied when I'd seen what I did to Sanosuke due to his refusal of the coat. It was pretty amusing, but at the same time, I don't know if Watsuki Nobuhiro (writer of _Rurouni Kenshin_) would've done that. Granted, I hadn't seen 100% of what Sanosuke was capable of in the TV show, but I still don't know if I have an excuse.

The scene with Yahiko and the fish has always been one of my favorites, but I found myself smirking a little when Yahiko was sitting there saying "Life is good" when he's stuck in the middle of no where and he still hasn't found Tsubame. I just have to wonder why when I write I seem to make it seem like the entire Kenshingumi is bipolar, excepting Kenshin who seems to live in a perpetual state of clinical depression.

You live and you learn.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Yahiko tightened his cloak around him, his only protection from the bitter cold. How the heck could it get so cold so quickly? And just yesterday it had been-

Yahiko tried tightening his cloak more. Couldn't it protect him a little more? The wind whipped around him, nearly throwing him off balance.

"Hey!" he yelled stupidly. His ears twitched, the cold getting to them. "Jeez! Can't a guy have it easier sometimes?"

Yahiko trudged on, pushing hard against the wind. His feet felt like they needed thawing, and his joints ached, but he pressed on. She was somewhere around here. Nobody just got lost like that.

Just when Yahiko thought his luck had just about ran out, something added to his misfortune. Snow began to fall. Slowly. It should have been a beautiful sight, but snow and wind was a bit more than he could take. Each time he breathed, he sucked in a mouthful of snowflakes, freezing his throat so much that it became numb. He hurried on, the snow increasing slowly, thank goodness. If it started snowing too much...

Yahiko skidded to a sudden stop. He almost walked by that flash of brilliant blue, and when he stopped and went back, his breathing was cut off abruptly by his shock. His jaw dropped wide open.

"Tsu... bame?"

Dazed, Yahiko walked over to figure slowly. Since the person was sitting down facing a tree, he couldn't tell if it was she or if she was... Yahiko suddenly broke into a run. He quickly knelt beside the figure, clutched that cloak in one of his near-frozen hands, and turned the face around.

Those beautiful blue eyes were staring. Yahiko panicked suddenly. She couldn't be dead. She couldn't be!

Yahiko felt as though someone had released their grip on his heart when her lips moved.

"L- lit- le-" she stammered, breathing a haggard breath.

"It's me," he said quickly. With a shaking hand he touched her cheek. Even to his freezing hand, her face was cold.

Yahiko started. He was motionless for a moment, again too dazed to think. He started again. He pulled off his cloak, and his gi. He wrapped both around her, his hands too shaky to do it well. He clutched her to himself, blinking as the snowflakes got into his eyes.

"It's alright," he whispered. It took him a while to stop repeating those two words.

"I'm going to take you back- back home- home with Tae. I promise. I won't- I won't-" he couldn't say the words. Tears stung his eyes. "I promise I'll take you back!"

* * *

Kaoru pushed against the raging wind, nearly choking on a mouthful of snow.

"Yahiko! Tsubame! Are you out there?" she called out. "Tsubame!" Kaoru turned at the sound of a male voice behind her. She stopped at the sight of Kenshin.

"Miss Kaoru!" he cried, walking towards her.

"Kenshin!" Kaoru called back.

When Kenshin had finally made it to her, he stopped, blinking at the snow that tried to enter his eyes.

"Did you find them?" Kaoru said, raising her voice above the sound of the wind.

"No," Kenshin said. Even with all the snow blowing around her, Kaoru could see regret in Kenshin's face. She frowned. After a moment of silence, she spoke up.

"Where's Sano?"

As if saying his name had magically summoned him, Sanosuke appeared.

"I didn't see them, but I did see some footsteps in the snow," Sanosuke yelled. "We can follow the steps!"

"Sano, that's impossible!" Kaoru called, agitated. "The snow will cover them up in no time. Are you certain you don't have any other clues to where Yahiko could have gone?

Sanosuke's shoulders hunched, making the heavy blanket that Kaoru forced him to wear, droop. He was obviously embarrassed for his stupidity.

"Maybe you two should head back to the dojo," Kenshin said.

"No," Kaoru said, firmly. Kenshin stared at her, shocked. She looked up at him, her eyes fierce. She grabbed his arm. "I won't leave you here in this weather. Never."

Kenshin's expression became very mild. He spoke softly.

"That is very kind of you, Miss Kaoru, but I have a feeling that Yahiko is heading back to the dojo right now, and is probably hours ahead of us."

Kaoru gasped.

"But that means-"

"It is a possibility," Kenshin said. "He may have already found Tsubame. However, I would like to keep searching to make sure. You and Sano should head back to the dojo, that you should. It would be the best thing for all of us." Kenshin's face broke into a smile. "I'm sure that you still want to teach Yahiko that lesson you mentioned, don't you, Miss Kaoru?"

Kaoru's cheeks grew warm.

"Y- yes," she said. Then she sighed, becoming serious again. "I'll go back. But you had better take care of yourself, Kenshin. If you don't come back when I think you should, you'll be in lot's of trouble."

Kenshin's smile changed from an amused one to a comforting one.

"Will it do much good if I promised?"

Kaoru's eyes lit up.

"Yes, it would," she said.

"Alright, I promise that I'll be back to the dojo in three days," Kenshin said.

Kaoru nodded, then turned to Sanosuke. She hoped it wouldn't be too hard to convince him to return to the dojo with her.

* * *

Tsubame's eyes fluttered open. She felt... warm. Startled, she tensed. Where was she? She looked up, gasping when her eyes fell upon little Yahiko's face.

He looked so serious... he looked, desperate. Tears nearly welled up in her eyes when she remembered the look in little Yahiko's eyes when he grabbed hold of her, clutching her tightly as he spoke in her ear.

"I promise I'll take you back home..."

Tsubame shut her eyes abruptly, too stunned to say a word. She remembered. She had been so cold. So lonely. She'd been frightened. She wanted to look deep into Yahiko's eyes and tell him that it was all her fault. She wanted to ask her to forgive him. A tear rolled down her cheek when she realized her deep inner pain was keeping her from speaking. In Tsubame's mind, she whispered deep meaning words to Yahiko. Oh, Little Yahiko, please keep me safe. Please take me home. I promise I'll never hurt you again. I shouldn't have gone wandering off. I got lost. It was my fault, Little Yahiko. I promise I'll never do it again. Please don't leave me, Little Yahiko. Please don't leave me. Tsubame closed her eyes and let her head lean against Little Yahiko's chest as he carried her. He limped along, but she never wanted to leave him.

They continued on, Little Yahiko slowing more and more. She nearly started when she realized that his shaking was from shivering. She looked up at him, stun keeping her momentarily silent. His lips were blue- they trembled from the cold.

"Little Yahiko," she whispered, stunned.

The boy's face did not change. He couldn't hear her, could he? She could try and speak louder...

Tsubame almost screamed when Little Yahiko nearly tripped. He was almost unable to regain his footing when he did. He must be so... tired. It was all her fault. Why hadn't she just- just- stayed at home?

Yahiko continued walking. Tsubame didn't know how long it had been, but it most have been quite a long time, from the position of the sun. Should she ask him to stop? She certainly could walk on her own feet, couldn't she? She was tired but... that wasn't excuse to have poor Little Yahiko carry her all this way. She was somewhat... afraid. Afraid that if he put her down she'd get lost all over again and then...

Tsubame squeezed her eyes shut. She shouldn't let herself get so worried about everything. The woods looked kind of familiar. Maybe they were getting closer to home.

Suddenly, everything changed. Yahiko faltered, but this time he could not regain his balance. He fell, pulling a screaming Tsubame down with him. Her face hit the snow, and she felt him release her.

A shocked and bewildered Tsubame crawled under from Yahiko's fallen form. She climbed over and looked at him. His teeth were chattering, and he was shaking, his eyes squeezed shut. Where was his gi?

"Little Yahiko!" Tsubame grabbed the boy and shook him, tears stinging her eyes. "Little Yahiko! Little YAHIKO!"

Tsubame screamed and screamed, but to no avail. She started when she realized a blanket that she didn't need was wrapped around her. She took it off, and gasped when she realized that his gi was on her, too. Why-

c

"Yahiko," Tsubame whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. She was shocked when she realized what she had said. She hadn't called him little. She knew why, too. If he had come all this way to rescue her, then certainly, he was not little.

However strong he might be, he was shivering right now, and she couldn't let him suffer like that. She wrapped him up the best she could, and stood up on shaking knees.

"Yahiko, I- I- promise I'll be back," Tsubame stuttered. "C-can you wait for me?

I- I'll be b-b-b- back. I promise. Please- please don't leave me."

Tsubame wrenched her eyes away from him. After that, she ran.

* * *

**Authoress Note 10/28/09:**

The chapters in this story vary in length a lot, so hopefully it isn't annoying to you readers. Interestingly enough, I didn't catch many errors or typos in this chapter during my revision.

We can all obviously see that Tsubame, against all odds managed to survive. What I'm thinking now is that I had better have made it like she was close enough to town, because someone ditzy enough to get lost in the forest in the wintertime probably has a pretty poor sense of direction, and it wouldn't make sense for them to suddenly be able to make it out of said forest on their own (though I can't really criticize Tsubame, since my sense of direction is known to be horrendous as well).

The other thing I'm thinking is, why she's able to run again so fast. So she was warmed by Yahiko's body- _so what? _

Apart from those little things I hate, I'm actually kind of proud of this story. It was my first fanfiction and I was actually able to stick it out and finish it half-decently. In some ways the characters were less OOC than they ended up being in some of my later works.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Darkness began to fall, but Tsubame pressed on.

"Help me! Help! Someone, please help!"

The only answer was the chilly wind. Tsubame continued to run, not disheartened. She was getting closer and closer to town. If she hurried she could save Yahiko.

Tsubame continued, her feet pressing into the snow. The snowfall had begun to stop, but the temperature seemed to drop. Tsubame started to cry. She kept running, her chest heaving. Could she keep up the pace? Could she make it there in time? Every minute seemed like and hour. Every minute might as well be an hour. She had to hurry!

It was a relief when Tsubame finally saw the familiar surrounding of the town of Tokyo.

"Help me!" Tsubame cried. People stopped as she pressed through. Yelling out everything as well as she could. She crashed into someone and fell to the ground. When she scrambled up she noticed Tae. A very shocked Tae.

"Tsuba -?"

"It's- it's- it's Yah-"

"Slow down," Tae interrupted. "Tell me clearly."

"Ya- Yahiko," Tsubame said, squeezing her eyes shut as tears came through. "He- he- he's-" when Tsubame opened her eyes she saw a tall, dark-haired woman walking past them, her red-painted lips twisted in a mischievous smile directed to some man across the street. Tsubame clutched her arm.

"M- Megumi," Tsubame stuttered desperately. "Yahiko's in the- the- forest- he- he- he's- he's fr- freezing. He- he'll die! Miss Megumi please-"

"What was that that you just said?" Megumi said, concern in her darkish blue eyes.

"Yahiko's going to die!" Tsubame blurted helplessly through frustrated tears. "He came looking for me and-"

"I know," Megumi replied softly. Such relief filled Tsubame at not having to explain. She turned to Tae. "Tae, I want you to go get as many blankets as you possibly can from anywhere you can possibly get them. Warm blankets." Tae just stood there, staring. "What are you waiting around for?" Megumi asked incredulously.

"Warming up someone who has been exposed to bitter cold for long periods of time is the key to their safe recovery."

Tae nodded, hurrying away.

"Tsubame, go get my medical kit," Megumi said, turning to the frantic girl.

"Y- yes, Miss Megumi," Tsubame said, hurrying away.

She rushed down the street, scarcely hearing Megumi bark quick orders at a few other people standing in the streets. When she reached Megumi's station, she stopped abruptly, relieved to see a medical kit sitting on the woman's desk. She grabbed it up, and hurried back to the middle of the marketplace, quickly whispering "pardon me" and "ooh, I'm so sorry" to anyone who she happened to crash into in her flurry. She received quite a few curses, and she could feel angry eyes on her back, but she had no choice but to ignore them.

When Tsubame reached the area where she'd left Megumi, she was shocked to see an empty wagon with a bony looking man sitting in the driving seat, and even more to see the big, strong-looking men that were standing close to Megumi, talking. Megumi turned to Tsubame abruptly, and she handed her the medical kit.

"Thank you, Tsubame," Megumi said. She gestured to the two men. "These two gentlemen, Mr. Wang and Mr. Goku, have volunteered to help us find Yahiko."

Tsubame nodded, and Megumi pointed to the bony man sitting in the wagon, and was about to introduce him, too.

"Just call me Kuzuma," the man said, giving Tsubame a toothless smile that made her fidget. Why was he looking at her like that?

Suddenly, Tae came rushing out of the Akebeko, laden with blankets. Almost in her shadow was Pan-Lin, one of the waitresses that worked in the restaurant. She was carrying a bucket of water, most likely hot, that she was obviously struggling to carry. Mr... Wang, was it?- quickly walked over to her and took her heavy burden. Her grateful smile was so intensely directed to the man that Tsubame blushed with embarrassment. It wasn't proper- at least not in public. Tsubame's eyes widened when the man whispered something into Pan-Lin's ear, and after a moment, her smile began to turn into a scowl. She stalked away, glaring at him as though she wanted to punch him in the face. Mr. Wang shrugged and deposited the bucket of water unto the wagon, right beside the blankets.

Tsubame moved the blankets away when Mr. Wang wasn't looking. Those were for Yahiko. She couldn't let them get wet.

"We haven't got any time to waste," Megumi said. "Come on everyone, let's go." Kuzuma lighted up a lantern that Tsubame had not noticed was sitting beside him, and Mr. Goku climbed unto the wagon. Tsubame started to climb in, but Megumi stopped her.

"You should stay in the front with Mr. Kuzuma," Megumi said. "You're the only one who knows where you left Yahiko, remember?"

Tsubame nodded, and then climbed up next to Kuzuma, who was giving her that toothless smile.

"Hold this, child," he said, handing her the lantern.

Wordlessly, she took it from him. Soon after, he got the horses moving, and at a fast pace they raced away from town.

Tsubame, filled with apprehension, scanned the area as they drove, using the lantern to help her see. It was so much faster with the horses. They would certainly be there in no time at all.

"You remind me so much of my grandniece," the old man said suddenly, startling Tsubame so badly she nearly fell out of the wagon.

"I d-do?" she asked.

The man nodded, chuckling.

"Everything about you reminds me of her," he replied. "She's older than you, now, but last I saw her, she was around you age." Tsubame nodded, and the man continued. "You seem to be very fond of this young man we're searching for."

Tsubame turned to the man, and spoke in a low, sad voice.

"Oh yes," she said. She then turned back to the search. "He's very sweet and kind. He's brave, too. He always takes care of people when they need it."

Tsubame fell silent, then, and the man stopped talking. He must have noticed her glum mood.

After a few more minutes, Tsubame noticed something.

"It was around here!" she cried, suddenly. The man slowed down, and Tsubame lifted up the lantern so that she could see. She felt a sudden pain in her chest.

"There." she said, pointing. The man stopped the horses, and Megumi climbed down from the wagon, as did the two men. Tsubame sat, utterly silent and totally motionless in the wagon seat. She was too late. She just knew she was too late. Megumi was examining Yahiko, and Tsubame itched for her facial expression to change. Smile, or frown, or do something! Tsubame thought, looking for some indication of Yahiko's condition.

"Hurry, bring me the blankets," she told Mr. Goku, who was standing near, also watching. He rushed to the wagon and took them out. Megumi immediately began wrapping Yahiko up. Tsubame's tongue felt heavy. She couldn't speak. She couldn't tell what Megumi looked like.

"Is he -?" she finally managed to say. She was shocked that Megumi had heard her.

"Yes," she said, looking up at Tsubame. "He's holding on by a very thin thread, though. Mr. Goku? Please lift him into the wagon."

Mr. Goku quickly scooped up Yahiko, who was now swimming in warm blankets. Megumi did not look pleased. The tightness in Tsubame's chest did not loosen, either. She crawled into the back of the wagon to sit with Yahiko, and Mr. Goku sat in the front instead.

Tsubame looked at Yahiko. Even in the dark she could see his pain. She could... feel it.

"Please don't go, Yahiko," Tsubame said, eyes shining with tears as she stared down at him. His breathing was so shallow, Tsubame had to strain to see him breathe at all.

"Kuzuma, drive this thing as fast as it can go," Megumi said. "We have to hurry. Yahiko doesn't have much time."

"Anything for you, Miss Megumi," the man said, starting the wagon up. Tsubame held unto Yahiko, afraid he would fall out. She'd never let anything happen to him again. Never.

* * *

**Authoress Note 10/28/09:**

It's funny how selective hypothermia can be, isn't it?


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine  
**

"However I hate admitting it, you were right," Sanosuke told Kaoru with a wry grin. "Don't under estimate me, rooster-head," Kaoru replied. "I know what I'm doing. The way back would be shorter than the way into the forest, simply because we don't have to cover as much ground, since we're not searching. When you're searching for something, shortcuts aren't an option. You're trying to explore as much area as you can."

Sanosuke was surprised Kaoru didn't add the word "dummy" to the end of that last sentence. No, maybe he was comparing her too much to Yahiko. As crazy as it seemed, he was actually starting to miss arguing with the little fellow.

"Yeah, yeah, little missy," Sanosuke said. "I knew it all along. I'm not stupid, you know."

"You've got that wrong," the little missy replied. "It's not me who knows you're not stupid."

"Hey! What's the big idea?" Sanosuke retorted.

Now Sanosuke was definitely starting to miss Yahiko. The little missy was worse.

Those stab-in-the-back insults were a lot more cutting then the straightforward ones Yahiko often used. Why was Kaoru always trying to get to him of late?

He heard her muttering something to herself. Wait a second... was she just saying that she missed Yahiko's name-calling? _What?_

"Don't think I didn't hear that," Sanosuke said, giving Kaoru a knowing grin.

Kaoru blushed crimson. Somebody else might have let it sit, but no one whose name was Sanosuke Sagara.

"Okay. I get it now. Yahiko was the only barrier that kept us from killing each other. Now that Yahiko's gone- well, may I say you'll just have to settle for me. Let me get one thing straight, though, little missy. Yahiko might do some silly swings with that shinai for you and some sweeping of the sidewalk for you, but I am doing neither. You just leave your dish-washing, table-wiping, and ground-sweeping to Kenshin, got it?"

The little missy smiled. That smile that women sometimes used when they were thinking about something mischievous. Sanosuke didn't really have to worry about that. On the fox-lady it was bad news, but Kaoru wasn't really like Megumi at all. As different as night and day, they were. Leave it to Kenshin to get trapped between them. Sano would never let anything like that happen to him. Sanosuke swung a quick sidelong glance at the little missy. Why was she still smiling? As they walked, the night and its horrid cold surrounding them fast, Kaoru's smile widened. She seemed to be snickering. That was normal for Kaoru, too, but what could she be thinking about? The more they walked, the more curious Sanosuke got. He suddenly got an idea.

"I know what you're doing," he said, pride in his deep voice. "You're trying to make me wonder what you're thinking about until I have to ask you. And you plan to use me asking you as an excuse to throw one of your dirty little insults at me. I'm on to you, little missy."

"Mind not talking so much?" Kaoru asked in a mock-casual voice. "You're ruining my concentration."

Sanosuke frowned.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you convince me to go back to the dojo with you," he groaned. "You're the worst company a guy could have."

Right then, Sanosuke almost tripped over something. He let out a yell, and was surprised when two hands grabbed him, suddenly steadying him. He turned, surprised to be face to face with Kaoru.

"Thank you so much for that compliment," she said, that smile on her face again. "I must really be the worst company a guy could have, seeing that the guy would have his snooty little nose buried in the snow without me. It really would be well deserving of him."

Sanosuke straightened himself out and pushed Kaoru's hands away.

"Who said anything about falling?" he said, slightly brushing himself off.

"You know, sometimes I think you have an ego the size of a mountain," Kaoru said irritably.

Kaoru continued walking, but Sanosuke stayed behind for a minute, shaking his head at her retreating figure.

"That girl is going to get it one of these days," he growled. He wondered why he even tried to catch up with her.

* * *

Tsubame sat by Yahiko's bed, her eyelids heavy. She refused to sleep, though. She was so worried about Yahiko. Right when he opened his eyes she wanted to say she was sorry- she wanted to apologize for everything. She had wanted to see him so badly all those days she'd been by herself, but she didn't want to have to see him like this.

Megumi had given him a hot bath, which seemed to have helped him a lot. She said he had suffered some minor frostbite, but that wasn't completely the thing that made Tsubame want to cry...

"Yahiko has entered into a coma," Megumi had said, looking grim.

"Wh- what does that mean?" Tsubame had asked, staring at Megumi with teary eyes.

"That means he may be asleep for a very long time," Megumi had said. "Many days. I'm shocked that he even made it. He has a very strong will to live. Most likely because he was determined to make sure you reached home safely..."

Tsubame shuddered. Megumi had said some other things, too, but Tsubame didn't really remember them all. Yahiko was bundled up in blankets, five or six, and the room was nice and warm. Megumi always came in every few minutes to check on him, but mostly, it was just Tsubame and Yahiko, alone together.

Over and over, Tsubame had berated herself for being so foolish. She had been worried about the animals. One night- the first night of the snow- Tsubame had been lying in bed, when she heard a noise. She looked outside. She saw a bird, walking slowly through the snow. Apparently, it had had no shelter, and now it's wings were too wet and frozen for it to fly. Tsubame had immediately leaped out of bed and gotten dressed. She had snatched up her cloak and shrugged into it as quickly as she could. She had tiptoed out of the house, being careful not to wake anyone. She slipped out the door and looked, but she saw no sign of the poor animal. She had looked all over for it, filled with despair over the poor creature. She had walked through the forest, careful not to get herself entangled in the branches. She searched and searched. She'd seen a rabbit, but the poor animal had already died. She wouldn't let that happen to the bird. She loved birds. So, Tsubame walked through the forest, unaware of how deep she was going in. She was starting to become frightened. Maybe she should go home. Suddenly, her eyes fell upon a little bird. There it was. Tsubame gently cupped the poor little creature in her arms, it being too weak to run away. She clutched it to her chest, folding her cloak around it so that it would stay warm as she walked home. The only thing was, she couldn't find the way home. She had walked and walked, but when it began to snow harder and it became darker and darker, Tsubame lost her way. That was only the beginning of her nightmare...

She had been gone for two days, with little hope of ever being found. Then... the wolves came. They gazed at her hungrily, their tongues hanging out as they approached her. She must have walked right into their territory. Tsubame knew that they probably would not leave her alone.

"Pl- please go away," Tsubame had whispered, frightened to her toes. She received an angry growl as an answer. As Tsubame looked all around, her she, realized she had no choice. She had to run.

Screaming, she ran between the trees, her blue cloak nearly becoming entangled in one. She ran and ran, fear and her desire to get away from their growling and howling giving her energy to run farther and faster than she ever had. She panted and panted as she ran, and was knocked to the ground roughly when she crashed into a tree. With the wolves approaching quickly and her strength ebbing, Tsubame saw only one option- she had to climb the tree. She started to try and climb it. She had been a very good tree-climber as a child, but right now her arms and legs wanted to get up there so fast that the certain result was her inability to climb up. Bark scraped away from the tree as her feet scratched it. She was making very little progress, and the wolves were approaching. Tsubame squeezed her eyes shut, and remembered the words of her mother.

"Oh, Tsubame," she had said. "You've been growing up so quickly. It seems like yesterday when you were just a little girl. You had to stand on a stool to help me bake bread in the kitchen."

"Yes, Mother," Tsubame said, smiling excitedly. "I remember. I didn't really help you, Mother. You could have done so much better without me."

"Not now," Mother had said, her face looking sad. "You're going off to work at a restaurant. More than half the time I won't have you home with me. Now you're all grown up, and you're going to work."

"I'll be all right, Mother," Tsubame said, though she was very nervous.

"I know you will, daughter," Tsubame's mother said, giving her a kiss. "Always remember. You can do anything- anything..."

So, remembering her mother's wise advice, Tsubame scampered up the tree, surprised at how easy it had been. She sat up on a strong branch, high, and far away from any animal's reach. She gasped and panted, still catching her breath when the wolves soon appeared. The wolves growled up at her, howling as they did. One of the wolves sat its paws up against the tree in a vain attempt to climb it. Tsubame, though she was far out of harms reaching, pulled her dangling legs up to herself and hugged the tree trunk, fearing of the sure result of a fall. The wolves stayed for a long while, circling around the tree. But thankfully, when the sunset, they left, deciding that sticking around prey they could not get was not worth it. Tsubame had not gotten out of that tree. All night, she had stayed there, her only fear an owl. That would be a sure sign of bad luck if an owl suddenly appeared and started clawing at her. Then she would fall all the way out of the tree, and all the snow in the world could not break her fall...

Worse, though, was the day when Tsubame had given up all hope. She was hungry, tired, and very cold. She just sat down against a tree, too tired to walk anymore. She had felt herself drifting in and out of wakefulness.

In a dream of hers, she had seen Yahiko, but then she later realized it had not been a dream- it had been real. She found that out when she woke up, warm and safe in the boy's arms...

Tsubame brushed some tears off her cheek. Wait a moment... she had been crying? Why hadn't she noticed? Maybe she just needed to get some rest.

"You look like you're about to fall over," said a voice behind her.

Tsubame flipped around, startled. Megumi stood in the doorway, smiling. Was that good news? Did that mean Yahiko was going to be okay?

As if reading her thoughts, Megumi spoke again.

"Don't worry so much about Yahiko," she said. "I'm pretty sure he's going to be alright."

"I- I want to stay with Yahiko," Tsubame said. "Please, Miss Megumi?"

"Sure," Megumi said, stretching out. She wore an amused smile on her face. "Call me if you need me."

With that, Megumi walked out of the room. As soon as she had closed the door, Tsubame's eyes started closing. Before she knew it, she had slumped over on the bed, and was soon sound asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Kaoru hurried into the town, shadowed by Sanosuke. They had returned to the dojo, but Yahiko was nowhere to be seen. By then it was nightfall, so they decided to just go into town in the morning to see if anyone else had found either of them.

Kaoru could have easily been overjoyed to soak in the sights and sounds of her wonderful hometown of Tokyo, but not today. They had not received one greeting- only apprehensive stares. Maybe it was Sanosuke. Sometimes people looked at him like he had a bad smell around him, or something.

A pretty waitress came out of the doors of the Akebeko. Kaoru was hit with an instant wave of envy. Pan-Lin, with her wavy dark brown hair and lovely green-blue eyes, attracted eyes everywhere. Where on earth did she learn to walk like that? And not to mention her smile. If Kaoru could smile more like her... maybe Kenshin would notice her more. Jeez, even in Pan-Lin's orange waitress suit-which fit the woman way too snugly- she looked like some kind of a princess. Every time Kaoru saw her she felt like a shadow. Compare the two of them and... Well, everyone could see who was more beautiful.

"Hey, Kaoru!" Pan-Lin said, a massive grin on her face as she waved to Kaoru and Sano.

Of all people, why was Pan-Lin the one who had to say hello?

"Hello, Pan-Lin," Kaoru said. She tried to hide the irritation in her voice. She must have done a good job because Pan-Lin's smile didn't fade.

Kaoru glanced at Sano. Why was he looking at Pan-Lin like that? Angered, Kaoru punched him in the side. He groaned slightly, and then turned to her, about to unleash a wave of curses.

When Pan-Lin approached them, though, he was all back to normal.

"I'm glad you're back, Kaoru," Pan-Lin said cheerfully. She turned to Sano. "How's it going, Sagara? You look like you've had it pretty rough."

Right when Sanosuke was about to start flirting like an idiot, Kaoru interrupted.

''Um, have you seen Yahiko?" Kaoru asked.

Pan-Lin's face darkened.

"Yeah," she said.

"Did something happen to him?" Kaoru demanded.

"Didn't anyone tell you?" Pan-Lin asked incredulously. "The little Myoujin kid nearly froze to death last night."

"Where is he?" Sanosuke asked.

Pan-Lin seemed a little surprised at Sano's change in attitude.

"I saw them taking him over to Megumi's medical station," Pan-Lin said. "He looked terrible."

Kaoru didn't wait for Sanosuke as she ran straight down the street. Grim thoughts ran through Kaoru's mind as she rushed to the medical station. She rushed through the door, and nearly had a head-on collision with Megumi.

"Raccoon girl," Megumi said, surprise in her voice as she looked Kaoru over. "I was expecting you, but not this soon."

"Is Yahiko alright?" Kaoru asked immediately.

"You, of all people, should know the answer to that question," Megumi said.

Kaoru remained silent. He wasn't -? Was he?

"Oh, come on!" Megumi said, throwing her hands up in the air. "You know better than I do that Yahiko wouldn't die like that!"

"Of course," Kaoru said, struggling to hide her relief. "I'm not stupid, you know."

At that moment, Sanosuke came rushing in.

"Where's Myoujin?" he asked.

"So much for greetings," Megumi muttered. "He's over in this room."

Sano and Kaoru followed Megumi to the door of a room. "Be careful not to disturb him. He's not exactly in perfect condition for visitors-"

"Yahiko!" Kaoru cried, at the sight of Yahiko lying on a bed, bundled up in more blankets than she could count. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing softly. He looked a little... pale. Kaoru's eyes went from Yahiko to the figure sitting by his bed. Tsubame?

"Tsubame?" Kaoru and Sanosuke said in unison.

"H- hello, Miss Kaoru," Tsubame said cheerfully. "Yahiko's gotten a lot better since last night." Tsubame was silenced by Kaoru and Sanosuke's stares.

"I suppose I have a lot of explaining to do."

Kaoru and Sanosuke sat down on some rickety stools as Tsubame, with Megumi's help, explained to them everything that had happened.

"Yahiko was so brave," Tsubame said, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "He came all the way into the forest to rescue me, even though I... I didn't deserve it."

"It's not your fault, Tsubame," Kaoru said, giving the girl a comforting smile. "We all make mistakes sometimes, and the best thing we can do is try not to make them again. It's a part of learning the ways of life."

Tsubame nodded.

"I can't believe the kid actually pulled it off," Sano said, carried off in his own thoughts. "He almost died, but he pulled it off anyway." He turned to Kaoru.

"Looks like Yahiko's finally growing up."

Kaoru nodded, giving him a smile. She turned to Megumi.

"Thank you for taking such good care of Yahiko, Megumi," she said. "Without your care, he may not have made it."

Megumi brushed off the praise with a wave of her hand.

"I'm a doctor," she said, giving Kaoru a smile. "That's just what I do."

Megumi was also making amends for some mistakes she had made in her life. She had been forced to sell opium, a deadly, yet addictive drug that had taken the lives of many Asian people. When she had been about to kill herself, Sanosuke had stopped her, stating that she was stupid for believing that taking her life would help anybody, least of all herself.

The person who'd had the most impact on her, though, had been Kenshin, who had told her that to amend for her taking of lives, she could use her abilities to instead save lives. So far, she had been doing just that, and almost perfectly.

Kaoru frowned sadly when she looked at Yahiko. She wasn't used to seeing him like this. She'd seen him like this only once in the past, but the fact that he'd gotten better quickly didn't ease her discomfort.

"Yahiko will come out of this," Megumi said. "I'm just not sure how soon. When someone enters into a coma, they can stay in it for weeks, sometimes months. I would predict that Yahiko will come out sooner, but I don't know. He's a strong boy, or else he would be dead right now."

"Will he... recover fully?" Kaoru asked.

Megumi sighed. She sounded tired, but her sigh was mostly one of unhappiness.

"I don't know," Megumi said in a low voice. She did not like not knowing if a patient would recover. "I really don't know. He might not have the same mental capacity as before he went into the coma, and there is a high chance that he may never fully recover."

Kaoru felt pained. She stared at Yahiko, his haggard breathing almost enough to make her cry. Please get better soon, Yahiko. She urged him mentally.

I still need to teach you a good lesson for running off by yourself like this. Kaoru thumbed a tear out of her eye.

"I know Yahiko will be okay," Tsubame said.

Kaoru looked up at her. Her eyes shown with a deep radiance, and her whole face was the image of pure hope. Kaoru gave her a deep, meaningful smile.

"Yes, he will be," Kaoru said, nodding.

After speaking a little more, they walked out of Yahiko's room so they would not disturb him. Sanosuke closed the door softly behind them.

Megumi rubbed her hands together, exhaling deeply.

"All right," she said, forcing a small smile. "I suppose I should get a little refreshment for our tired guests."

Sanosuke stretched out.

"This gathering calls for some sake," he said. Looking at them. "Who's paying?"

Sano's carefree attitude brought a grin to Megumi's before solemn face.

"I heard you sniffling," she said, her voice almost dripping with mischief. "I never read anywhere that sake helped anybody recover from a cold."

"You're right," Sanosuke said, grinning at her wolfishly. "I suppose you'll have to do a little experiment. I'll drink some sake, and you'll have to give me a little check-up to see if it made me better or worse."

"Actually," Megumi said, her fox-ears appearing. "I was thinking of something a little bit different."

Despite Kaoru's mood, she had to smile. When Megumi's fox-ears appeared,

it always meant trouble. And Sano was going to be in a lot of that.

"Oh, really," Sano said, his grin widening. "You can stuff me in a bed like that one Yahiko's in and then check on me everyday. I'm sure I could get better that way."

"Sano, you unashamed lout," Megumi retorted, grabbing up a pillow and throwing it at him. He dodged it none too gracefully. Megumi was still grinning, though.

How on earth can she think that's funny? If Kenshin used one of those improper, out-of-line statements on me, I'd kick his butt all the way across the Indian Ocean. Kaoru thought. She felt a pang of sadness, right then. Where is Kenshin, anyway? If he doesn't return in the days he promised, then I swear I will find him, and he won't be able to walk for days.

"Miss Kaoru?"

Kaoru started, and when she came to, she saw Tsubame looking up at her expectantly.

"Y- yes?" Kaoru asked, still a little dazed.

"Miss Megumi asked you if you would like to go to the Akebeko now?" the girl asked.

"Sure," Kaoru replied. "I'd like that a lot."

"Well, let's go then," Sano said, grinning. He pointed to Megumi. "She's paying for everything."

"That doesn't give you the liberty to spend all my money on sake," Megumi said, giving him a fox-lady grin.

The group walked over to the Akebeko. They must have looked odd: a kenjitsu trainer, an ex-gangster, a doctor, and a little girl walking across the street. No all that the group needed to make them complete was a red-haired rurouni in a purple gi, and maybe a ten year-old ex-thief. Kaoru sighed. She was supposed to feel light-hearted right now. Sano and Megumi were cheering up, and Tsubame was confident everything was going to be okay. Why couldn't Kaoru feel like that? Right now she felt... empty. That was the only accurate word.

As the group sat down at a table and a waitress- who to Kaoru's great relief was not Pan-Lin- took their order, Kaoru started to relax a bit. Maybe everything would be okay.

"It seems like the little missy is thinking of a certain violet-eyed rurouni who happens to be named Kenshin Himura," Sano said.

Kaoru looked up, startled at Sano's ability to read her thoughts.

"So that's who's missing," Megumi said. "Sir Ken."

Kaoru felt a wave of jealousy at the sudden remembrance of the first time Megumi had called Kenshin "Sir Ken". It didn't hurt as much, now, since that was what she called him. Kaoru had thought that Sir Ken was some sort of... lover's nickname she'd given him. Leave it to Kaoru Kamiya to feel jealous of Megumi. Kaoru thought guiltily. I mean, it's not like I think of Kenshin as mine, or anything. I don't even feel for him that way. I don't! He's just a friend. A very, very, very close friend.

"Ooh, you're blushing," Megumi said. "Sano's cold must be very contagious."

Kaoru bit her lip, and her cheeks grew warm.

"Contagious?" Tsubame said, growing a shade paler.

Just then, the waitress brought their food.

"Where's the sake?" Sanosuke asked incredulously.

"It'll be here in a moment, sir," the waitress replied. Despite her politeness, she sounded slightly amused.

Sanosuke looked so relieved, it almost made Kaoru laugh. Sano and his sake. Kaoru thought, amused.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Sanosuke demanded, pouting.

"Nothing, Sano," Megumi said, already diving into her meal.

Soon, mirth and laughter surrounded the table. Kaoru found herself fiddling aimlessly with her dinner, suddenly losing appetite. She was still too worried about Yahiko. She struggled to enjoy the outing, giving a small smile for each joke she heard. She simply sat with her friends, adding a comment or two in when she thought they wanted to hear one. The sun was already starting to set when they decided it was time to go. Megumi looked like she'd had a bit too much sake, for she acted giddy and said silly things.

Sano's face was so red, it was quite a surprise that he had not already fallen over, drowning in his much drink. Meanwhile, Tsubame had clutched Kaoru's arm tightly, seemingly for fear of the two drunken people getting up unsteadily from the table. Kaoru considered all these things absent-mindedly, in too much of a gloomy state to show much reaction. She went home that day with a heavy heart, her body and soul weakened from the stress of the day. When she laid down on her futon to sleep, her rest did not come as easily as it should have. She tossed and turned, sleep coming in snatches, thus giving her little rest. What rest she did get did nothing to ease her, but actually caused more anxiety, considering the troubling dreams she suffered from.

* * *

**Authoress 10/28/09:**

Wow, Yahiko survived deadly poison and yet he "there is a high chance he might not fully recover" from hypothermia?

Unfortunately, I'm infamous for not studying before writing things into my stories. It's a problem that I tried to correct by writing my _Beautiful Broken Existence _re-write, and while I gained a lot from the experience from trying, the story was a failure (though not because of that reason at all). You can be a good writer, and not write a good story because of not putting everything into it that you should.

Note to self: study the effects of hypothermia ASAP.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Yahiko slowly opened his eyes. He immediately squeezed them back closed again, the sunlight temporarily blinding him. A dull ache filled his head, and he felt so hot that he feared he might suffocate. He was so weak that even twitching his finger took effort. Wait... was he in a bed? What had happened?

When Yahiko came fully to himself, he looked up. Tsubame was sitting beside his bed, staring wistfully out the window.

"Tsu... bame?" Yahiko said. His voice came out hoarse and crackly. So much so that he was a little surprised when Tsubame gave a start, her eyes darting everywhere before they settled on him. It was amazing that she could even hear him. She stared at him a long while before whispering his name.

"Yahiko?"

Wait a minute... she NEVER called him that. Yahiko blinked at her.

"What did you say?" he asked, satisfied that his voice didn't sound quite as

crackly.

"You can hear me, Yahiko?" Tsubame asked.

"Y- yeah," he said, clearing his throat a little to relieve some of the hoarseness.

Tsubame's eyes widened, nearly filling her face. She pushed back her chair and got up, nearly stumbling as she ran out of the room.

"Miss _MEGUMI!_" Tsubame literally screamed as she ran.

What did I do? Yahiko thought. He squeezed his eyes shut again. This was too much for him to take. He felt like he had been trampled underfoot by twenty horses, and that not counting the wagon behind them.

Yahiko's eyes reopened at the sound of footsteps. Tsubame came back into the room, Megumi seeming to be closer than her shadow.

"He's still wake," Tsubame breathed as though it were the most wonderful thing in the world.

Yahiko blinked as Megumi walked over to his bed, staring at him closely. His vision blurred a little as his tired eyes tried to follow her movements.

"Amazing," she said. "No patient I've had has regained consciousness this quickly."

What was going on? What had happened?

"Where am I?" Yahiko asked, grogginess fogging his mind.

"You're inside my hospital station," Megumi replied.

Yahiko struggled to sit up, his head throbbing.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We nearly lost you," Megumi replied. "What you did was very brave, yet very dangerous."

What had he done, again?

"Tsubame!" Yahiko cried, sitting up straight.

"I'm right here," Tsubame replied.

Yahiko turned his head to the right. Oh yeah, he had just seen her a minute ago, hadn't he? Yahiko moaned as his head began hurting again. Megumi helped him lie back down.

"You're still very weak," Megumi said. "You need to lie down and rest a little bit."

"Tsubame's alright," Yahiko mumbled. "But that means..."

"Yes," came Tsubame's sweet voice. "You saved me, Yahiko."

He did. He really did. He felt relieved, and at the same time, proud of himself. He had proved that he was strong enough to handle a situation like this one.

Yahiko felt slightly better the next day. He still had trouble sitting up, and he didn't feel like eating. Tsubame had brought him a cup of green tea, and the pained look in her eyes when he refused it forced him to change his mind. He had drunk some. It had been all right, and it made him feel a little better.

"Visitors," announced Megumi as she opened the door. Kaoru scurried in, and

Sano came in behind her in a more controlled manner.

"As ugly as ever," Yahiko said, smirking at Kaoru as she entered.

Yahiko was shocked when she looked even more excited when he said that.

"How's it going, Yahiko?" Sano asked. "Has your girl been pampering you?"

Yahiko snorted, and it caused his now tender throat to react with a fit of coughing.

"Are you okay, Yahiko?" Kaoru asked, her face the picture of pure concern.

Yahiko nodded. Suddenly, another thought came to his mind.

"Where's Kenshin?" Yahiko asked.

Kaoru's face grew grim.

"Kenshin's still out looking for you," Sano said quickly. "He said that if he didn't find you, he'd be back in three days, and that meant yesterday evening."

"What are you two looking so sulky for?" Yahiko demanded. His voice became hoarse again because of the way he strained it. He tried to clear it hurriedly so he could continue. "If Kenshin says he'll be back, he'll be back, even if it take three years."

Kaoru brightened up considerably when Yahiko said that.

"You're absolutely right," she said with new resolution. "Kenshin promised, and he never breaks his promises."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Sano raised an eyebrow to Yahiko.

"Go ahead and open it," he said in a hoarse voice.

Sano opened the door and Tsubame scurried in, bundled up well in her blue cloak. Yahiko struggled to sit up. Tsubame quickly set down something she had been holding and rushed over to help him. Yahiko's cheeks grew warm.

After all, Kaoru and Sano were still in the room, most likely watching the scene in amusement.

"Is that alright?" Tsubame said after she had finished propping him up on his pillows.

"Yes," Yahiko mumbled, ignoring Kaoru and Sanosuke's quiet laughter.

"I brought you some... soup," Tsubame said, eyes downcast. "You don't have to eat it... not if you don't feel like it right now."

"Mmm," Sanosuke said. "Smelling soup gives me the appetite for some. I guess I'll just head out to the Akebeko."

"I better go, too," Kaoru said in mock-hurry. "I have some- uh- cleaning!- yes, cleaning- to do. At the dojo, I mean."

So Sanosuke and Kaoru excused themselves, the lameness of their excuses evident. What the heck were they grinning about? When the door closed behind them, Yahiko was certain he heard giggling.

Tsubame's cheeks grew red.

"Uh, what kind of soup did you bring?" Yahiko asked, clearing his throat.

"Oh," Tsubame said, surprised. "It's a new recipe that I created. I've been trying to perfect it for a while. It has lo mien, shrimp, and lots of other ingredients."

Tsubame picked up her basket from the ground and set it on the edge of the bed. She looked hopeful.

"It sounds like it might be pretty good," Yahiko said.

A delighted smile enlightened Tsubame's face. She uncovered the soup, but as Yahiko reached for the spoon, Tsubame touched his wrist.

"Oh, no," Tsubame said worriedly. "You must lie down. I'll feed you the soup."

What? Yahiko was so shocked by the suggestion that he complied. Well, he might as well. Tsubame put the first spoonful in his mouth, then waited, her apprehension evident.

"This soup is delicious," Yahiko said. It was an exaggeration. The soup wasn't that good, but it was fairly tasty. Tsubame smiled again.

"Thank you, Yahiko," she whispered, embarrassed by his worshipful comment.

Tsubame continued giving him bites to eat, giggling when his mouth got dirty and she had to wipe it with the cloth napkin she had brought along. Why he was allowing Tsubame to do this, he did not know. Kaoru will never leave me alone if she hears about this. Yahiko thought. Yahiko's eyes darted worriedly to the door. They widened when they fell upon Kaoru and Sanosuke peeking in the room. _NO! _

"What is it, Yahiko?" Tsubame asked.

Yahiko's eyes darted from Tsubame, to the door, and then back again.

"Uh, I'm getting-" Yahiko coughed. "-Kinda tired."

"Oh," Tsubame said, her face falling. It brightened quickly, though. "Thanks for eating my soup."

"Uh- sure," Yahiko said. "I- um- liked it... a lot."

Tsubame took the rest of the soup, which was only a small portion, and headed out the door. Luckily, Kaoru and Sanosuke were gone.

Yahiko re-adjusted his pillows and lay down on the bed. Tsubame's soup had actually made him feel somewhat better. Yahiko closed his eyes, a smile creeping onto his face. He was going to get some rest. In the morning, he would be out of bed. That was for sure. There was no way he would stay cooped up in bed longer than he had to.

* * *

The next morning, Kaoru walked out to the marketplace. When Yahiko came home, she was planning on cooking some fish, his favorite food. Kaoru could not help but giggle in remembrance of the hilarious scene she had seen in his room. If he weren't feeling ill, Kaoru would have made him miserable with countless teasing statements about him and Tsubame. Well, he was only a kid, but it was fun to vex him anyway.

Kaoru stopped in her tracks, nearly tripping over her own feet. Her eyes had fallen on that unmistakable red-haired head.

Kaoru rushed straight towards the owner of that red hair. Where was he going?

Kaoru was so concerned with following Kenshin that she hadn't noticed that he'd stopped. She nearly crashed into him.

"Miss Kaoru!" Kenshin said, a warm smile appearing on his face.

"Kenshin," Kaoru breathed, tears of joy nearly bursting out of her eyes.

"Hello, Kaoru."

Kaoru's face fell. Pan-Lin's voice. Kaoru's disappointment turned into jealousy. Kenshin had been talking to Pan-Lin.

"Hi," Kaoru said, quickly composing herself.

"I was just asking Pan-Lin here if she'd seen you," Kenshin said. "She told me everything that had happened. How's Yahiko?"

"He's doing very well," Kaoru said, staring at Pan-Lin all the while. She had eyes only for Kenshin. Her expression said: "Yes, sexy guy. I like him." Kaoru felt like shaking the woman. Kenshin belonged to her!

"Did you and Sano have any trouble getting here?" Kenshin asked.

Kaoru gave a start.

"Uh, no. Not really."

"Shall we go and check on Yahiko, Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin asked.

"Sure," Kaoru said. She looked up at Kenshin but didn't meet his eyes. "I was just headed there right now."

Kenshin and Kaoru began walking to Megumi's station together. Kaoru looked back at Pan-Lin once more. The waitress gave her a wink that meant: "You have to tell me all about that guy sometime." Kaoru turned away, snorting.

If the woman wanted pain, let her mess around.

As Kenshin and Kaoru walked, silence reigned between them. Kenshin cracked it by speaking up.

"I imagine that you are very upset with me, Miss Kaoru."

Kaoru stopped in her tracks, and stared at him incredulously.

"Why would I be?" she asked.

Kenshin looked at her, his face grim.

"I broke a promise, that I did," he said. "I would beg for your forgiveness, but I am not worthy of it."

Kaoru grew angry.

"What you should be begging from me is that I spare you a slap on the cheek," she replied heatedly.

Kenshin's eyes widened.

"Why, Miss Kao-"

"Are you an idiot or something?" Kaoru asked. "Or do you think I'm an idiot?"

"Why of course not, Miss Kaoru," Kenshin replied.

"Then stop treating me like one!" Kaoru spat. Kenshin looked confused. Kaoru sighed indignantly. "Can't you see what's right in front of your face?"

Kenshin looked down to the ground, sadness evident in his eyes.

"If you do not wish to forgive me, that is fine," he said.

"You idiot!" Kaoru exclaimed, bringing her arm down on Kenshin's head with all her might. He bent under the impact.

"If I said anything out of line I apologize," Kenshin stammered as he rubbed his head.

"STOP APOLOGIZING!" Kaoru yelled.

Kenshin looked up at her from his bent position, puzzled.

"Stop apologizing?" Kenshin asked.

Kaoru sighed. She decided to just forget it. Let Kenshin stammer and be puzzled. Kaoru stalked away, a protesting Kenshin struggling to catch up.

Kenshin walked along, beside Kaoru, wondering how he may have upset her. What did he do that was so terribly wrong? Every time Kenshin's mouth opened, words of apology wanted to come out. Miss Kaoru had told him to stop apologizing. If she didn't even want him to apologize, didn't that mean she would never accept his apology? Kenshin's eyes darted to Kaoru. She walked along, her face cool and calm. What was she thinking about? Would she even talk to him? Kenshin thought of asking if Kaoru was angry with him, but that was evident. Maybe he ought to just change the subject. If he spoke of something, that would take her mind off being angry with him, wouldn't it?

"Pan-Lin and you seem to be pretty good friends, that you do," Kenshin said. Kaoru darted a surprised, sidelong glance at him. Maybe she was surprised he was actually obeying her in not trying to apologize. Kenshin continued. "She discusses you quite often."

"Does she," Kaoru said. It wasn't a question.

"I haven't seen her around here before," Kenshin said, hoping she wouldn't get angry. "My pardons, but is she new around here?"

"Yes," Kaoru said. "I think so."

Ah, so she was coming out of her shell. He had to talk about something else.

Right when he was about to continue, Kaoru announced they had reached Megumi's station. Kaoru entered, and Kenshin followed her.

"Megumi? Are you here?" Kaoru called.

Megumi appeared at the call of her name.

"I suppose you're here to see Yahi-" Megumi stopped in mid-word, her eyes falling on Kenshin. "Sir Ken," she said in surprise, a mischievous smile appearing on her face.

"Hello, Miss Megumi," Kenshin said, hoping his warm smile would not be mistaken for an excuse to tease him.

"Did you make it here alright?" Miss Megumi asked, a tone of exaggerated interest evident in her now syrupy voice.

"I was caught in some bad weather and had to make camp early one day," Kenshin said with a sidelong glance at Kaoru.

"Ooh," Miss Megumi said, giving a childish pout. "I hope you haven't caught a cold or anything-"

"Oh, no," Kenshin said quickly, seeing what was coming. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Megumi said, approaching him. "I think you need a-" Megumi's fox-ears appeared. "-Check-up."

Megumi walked smoothly between him and Kaoru, ignoring the younger woman's angry expression. She wrapped an arm around Kenshin's shoulder. She put her mouth uncomfortably close to his ear.

"I have all the right... treatments," she whispered.

"That will be quite all right," Kenshin said, growing embarrassed. He tried to gently remove Megumi's arm from off his shoulder. He felt uncomfortable touching her.

"If you would please excuse me-"

"Kenshin and I are here to visit Yahiko," Kaoru said through gritted teeth. "Show us to the room!"

Megumi chucked.

"Why, raccoon girl," she said. "Have patience. Sir Ken here might need his own room. Why don't we go see the one that suits him best, eh? Or do you have such a horrible taste for decorations that you couldn't ever find one for him?"

Kaoru fumed, and Kenshin managed to stop her before she made a lunge for fox-eared woman.

"Uh, Miss Kaoru, why don't we go visit Yahiko now?" Kenshin asked, trying to cool things down.

Megumi chuckled once, but gratefully, she led them to the room where Yahiko was. As the door opened, Megumi let out a gasp.

"Yahiko, what are you doing out of bed?" she asked incredulously.

Yahiko was in the middle of tying his hakama.

"I'm sick of staying in that bed-" Yahiko's eyes fell on Kenshin. A smile appeared on his face. "Kenshin!"

"Hello, Yahiko," Kenshin said, smiling at the boy. "You look like you're doing pretty well."

"He's not," Kaoru said, squirming past Kenshin and into the room.

"I agree," Megumi said, placing her hands on her hips. "Yahiko still needs to stay in bed for a couple more days."

"DAYS?" Yahiko asked incredulously.

"Yes!" Kaoru exclaimed.

"I'm not going back to bed!" Yahiko said.

"Yes you are!" Kaoru exclaimed.

"I'm fine!"

"You suffered severe trauma, Yahiko," Megumi said sternly. "You haven't had the chance to make a full recovery."

"Exactly," Kaoru said. "Get back in bed right now, Yahiko."

"I don't have to listen to you," Yahiko retorted. "You're nothing but an ugly hag!"

Kenshin blinked at the conflict boiling before his eyes.

"Oh my," came a small voice from behind him.

Tsubame walked in, carrying a small basket.

"Tsubame," Kenshin breathed, shocked to see the girl.

Though Kenshin had heard from Pan-Lin that Yahiko had helped Tsubame make it back safe and sound, he could hardly believe it. Yahiko had nearly lost his life, but in risking it, he had brought the person most dear to his heart back safely.

Kenshin was dumb-founded. His eyes darted from Yahiko to Tsubame, who were now sharing a surprised expression. The room had grown quieter when a few moments after Yahiko had stopped arguing.

"What's going on?" Tsubame asked.

"Yahiko won't get back in bed," Kaoru said.

"Does he have a fever?" Tsubame asked.

Kaoru and Megumi looked at each other, obviously not knowing the answer to that question.

"Do you two think I'm stupid?" Yahiko asked. "I'd know if I had a fever."

Megumi walked over to Yahiko and felt his forehead.

"Hey!" he said, protesting.

"No fever," Megumi said, finally.

"See?" Yahiko said. He gave Kenshin a grin.

"I still think you should rest another day," Megumi said. Yahiko scowled at her. She became serious. "If you don't start behaving yourself, I might decide to keep you in here for a week."

"You can't do that!" Yahiko protested.

After a little more argument, Yahiko got back into the bed.

"I have to go," Megumi said.

"Where to?" Kenshin asked.

"Yahiko's not the only one who's been affected by the weather," Megumi replied.

"I have over a dozen house calls to make today."

After saying good-bye to everyone and asking them to "watch the spiky-haired kid in the bed", she departed. Kaoru did, as well. Tsubame left her basket, telling Yahiko that it was more of some soup she had fixed the other day, and blushing all the while. Yahiko had also blushed, thanking her for the soup. She left, waving good-bye to him in a girlish manner.

"Seems like you have your own personal delivery girl, I say," Kenshin said, taking a seat by Yahiko's bed.

"Yeah," Yahiko replied. "I guess I won't starve in this place, at least."

An odd silence prevailed between the two, until finally, Kenshin spoke.

"That was very brave of you to go after Tsubame," Kenshin said.

"I guess I didn't do a very good job of bringing her back," Yahiko said, sounding

a little ashamed. "I'll bet that if it were you, you wouldn't have ended up like

this."

Kenshin smiled at Yahiko's comment.

"You have a good heart, Yahiko," he replied. "That's all that matters."

Silence prevailed again. Kenshin began thinking about Kaoru. He would have probably done exactly as Yahiko had. He would have run out after her to save her, no matter what the weather was. In his heart he'd known that Yahiko was going to go out and try to rescue the girl sooner or later, and nothing could have stopped him. Kenshin's thoughts returned to how Kaoru had behaved in the marketplace. Why had she been angry with him?

"Yahiko-" Kenshin nearly asked Yahiko something, but then he realized that the boy was sound asleep. Kenshin smiled. Kaoru and Megumi were right. Yahiko did need a little extra rest.

Kenshin wondered if he ought to stay with Yahiko until Tsubame or someone else returned. Kenshin stayed a while longer, than tiptoed out of Yahiko's room. He needed to go speak with Kaoru.

* * *

**Authoress Note 10/28/09:**

I'm starting to wonder why I threw Pan-Lin into this story. I guess I've had an original character in every fanfiction that I've ever written. I guess I thought it would be necessary to show another waitress helping Tae out since Tsubame wouldn't be there. In the manga you can see other waitresses helping out.

In the end though, Pan-Lin is kind of amusing because her primary purpose is to (unintentionally) make Kaoru jealous.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Kaoru walked through the marketplace. She carried a red fabric she planned to use to make a new kimono. It was beautiful, and she was pretty convinced she'd gotten a good deal on it. Kaoru needed to buy a little more rice. Then there was the fish, too. It was all a bit too much for her to carry. Since there really was no one to help her, she'd have to carry it all herself.

Kaoru bought the rice and the fish, and struggled to carry both them, and the fabric at once.

"Allow me to help you with those, Miss Kaoru."

Kenshin turned around, knowing she would be face-to-face with Kenshin. She thanked him, then handed him the bucket of rice and the fish. Of course, Kenshin carried them effortlessly.

"Is that all you are buying today?" Kenshin asked.

"Mmm-hmm," Kaoru said, nodding.

Kenshin had to have noticed that she rarely bought fish, but he said nothing. She had promised that she would buy fish in celebration of them finding Tsubame.

Kaoru and Kenshin remained silent as they walked to the dojo. The only sound they heard was the sound of their feet hitting the now melting snow.

The two reached the dojo, and Kaoru went to her room to put her fabric away. Kenshin took the rice and fish into the house.

When Kaoru entered the house, Kenshin was standing there, looking at her expectantly.

"What is it?" she asked.

"My pardons, but do you have time to talk?" Kenshin asked.

"Sure," Kaoru said. "Let's go outside."

Kenshin and Kaoru walked outside, and headed to the steps of the dojo. Kenshin sat on them, and Kaoru sat beside him.

Kaoru looked at Kenshin expectantly, but his gaze was turned somewhere else. Kaoru looked upward straight ahead, and immediately saw what he was looking so intently at. A small bird, most likely a sparrow of some sort, was flying to and fro between its unfinished nest and several other areas, carrying back building supplies with each trip. Its wings fluttered up and down quickly, in a motion that seemed effortless. The small bird never stopped to rest, however tiring its job was. It worked diligently, its full attention dedicated to the task at hand.

"Amazing," Kaoru breathed. "The bird never seems to stop or to rest. It just keeps on going. At this rate, that nest will be done soon."

Kaoru looked at Kenshin. The smile on his lips quickly brought one to hers.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Kaoru asked finally.

"It was about... what happened this afternoon," Kenshin replied, looking back away again. He sighed, his face growing serious. "I know you must still be quite angry at me for not coming home on time, and if there is any way I can make amends for what I've done, please tell me."

Kaoru looked at Kenshin's sober face for a moment before answering. His eyes darted toward her- the sidelong glance of a person who felt guilty.

"Kenshin, did it ever occur to you that I'm not angry at you at all?" Kaoru asked.

Kenshin looked at her, that familiar confused look coming to his face again.

"I- I-"

"I didn't accept your apology because there's nothing to forgive," Kaoru said. "I'm not angry at you for coming home late, Kenshin. I'm no idiot. Anyone who didn't know that the yesterday's weather was not good for traveling in would be one."

Kenshin looked even more dumb-founded.

"Oh, stop it!" Kaoru said, suddenly blushing. "You're such an idiot, Kenshin. You are!"

With that Kaoru got up and stalked away, leaving Kenshin sitting on the steps of the dojo, scratching his head in wonder. Was he imagining things, or had Kaoru just starting blushing for no reason at all? Maybe it was the cold weather... Yes, it had to be.

Kenshin decided to look for Sano. He hadn't got to see him since he'd returned home from his trip.

Kenshin went to Sano's room in the dojo. After Kenshin had discovered the room empty, he decided to go into the house. He found Kaoru in the kitchen, getting dinner ready. Kenshin's mind immediately went back to their meeting in the marketplace. She'd bought fish, hadn't she? His mind had been so intent on other things that he hadn't noticed. She rarely bought fish. She was making something special today, wasn't she? Kenshin decided not to talk to her. The way she'd just stormed out on him a minute ago, who knew what was going on inside her head? Maybe Megumi was right to nickname her "raccoon girl."

Kenshin left a quick note for Kaoru. He didn't know how long he'd be in town, but he was sure he'd make it home in time for her special dinner.

Later, Kenshin was entering the doors of the Akebeko. He spotted Sano almost immediately. He was sitting down at a table, a grin on his face as he counted a large amount of money.

"Five hundred yen, five hundred and thirteen yen- hey, Kenshin!" Sano said when he spotted Kenshin. "Long time no see."

Kenshin took a seat at the table. After exchanging greetings and talk about Sano's gains at gambling, the conversation turned to Kaoru.

"Have you spoken to the little missy yet?" Sano asked.

Kenshin nodded.

"That's what I came to talk to you about," he replied.

A wild grin appeared on Sano's face.

"Oh, I get it now," Sano said. "You're thinking about asking the little missy out to dinner to cool her temper, right?"

Kenshin fidgeted, suddenly getting uncomfortable.

"Uh, no," he said. "Actually, I came to ask how Miss Kaoru had been acting the last few days- I mean, when I had not yet... returned."

Instead of giving the deep frown Kenshin expected, Sano grinned, his grin even bigger than the last.

"You could almost see the gray clouds over her head," Sano said. "Raining and pouring gloominess on her head. I'd never seen her like that before. She was worried to her toes about you."

Kenshin ignored Sano's misquotation.

"She was?" he asked incredulously.

"What did you expect her to be, happy?" Sano asked with equal disbelief.

"Of course not," Kenshin replied, taking sudden interest in studying the tabletop.

After a moment of silence, Kenshin sipped some of his sake. "I suppose I better head back to the dojo. Miss Kaoru would be sorely displeased if I missed dinner today."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Sano said, waving his hand in nonchalance. "She's probably cooking nothing but that horrible tofu again. Did I mention she's cooked it repeatedly for about two weeks now? If I even smell anymore tofu, I'll be sick."

Kenshin grinned. He decided not to tell Sanosuke that that day was different.

* * *

Tsubame rushed out of the doors of the Akebeko, barely noticing Kaoru's friends, Kenshin Himura and Sanosuke Sagara sitting at a table, talking. In her arms she carried something she'd been working on since the weather had so drastically changed. Would Yahiko like it? She hoped so. She had spent a long while, sewing in her dim, candle-lit room. Even when her eyes hurt and her joints ached painfully with stiffness, she had continued working. She wanted to finish it as soon as possible. Oh, she couldn't wait to see the look on Yahiko's face when he saw it! Would it be a positive expression, or a negative one? Could she know if he liked it or not?

Tsubame continued running. She rushed into Megumi's medical station. Panting, she stopped to catch her breath. She needed to compose herself. Yahiko seeing her struggling and nearly tripping over her own feet would ruin everything. She knocked softly on the Yahiko's door.

"Come in," came a groggy sounding voice.

Ooh! She hoped she hadn't woken him up. Still uncertain, Tsubame opened the door to a crack. When she saw that Yahiko was just about fully awake, she walked in. Her cheeks grew warm. Yahiko was the most handsome boy she had ever seen, and even looking groggy and slightly ill he was still so.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up," Tsubame said softly.

"It's okay," Yahiko said, yawning.

Tsubame approached the bed, her heart beating hard in her chest. She had tried to make up a "presentation speech", as she herself had called it, but all the words were blown away at the sight of Yahiko, all her rehearsing suddenly made vain.

"I, uh, made this... for you," Tsubame said, her hands shaking as she handed the gift to him. She was surprised it didn't flutter to the floor. Tsubame looked down at the ground, too afraid- yet at the same time eager- to watch his reaction.

Yahiko turned the red fabric over in his hands, tracing his fingers across the delicately sewn green and yellow triangles. As he studied the gift, wondering what it might be, he soon discovered it was a cloak, and a million times better than the one he had made. He wondered how he might look wearing it, though. This shade of bright red wasn't at all his color- maybe Kenshin could get away with wearing that shade. It had "extra hard-work" written all over it, though. When had Tsubame had time to make this? Yahiko looked up at the girl. Her eyes were downcast and she fidgeted around nervously, and her cheeks were almost as red as the fabric he was holding. She looked up at him shyly, still not raising her head fully.

"Thank you," Yahiko said, meaning every word.

"Do you... like it?" Tsubame asked.

"Like it?" Yahiko asked incredulously. "This is the fanciest cloak I've ever seen. It's wonderful."

"Really?" Tsubame asked shyly, growing brave enough to raise her chin.

"Of course," Yahiko said, smiling. "You worked really hard on it, didn't you?"

Tsubame nodded.

"I'm glad you like it so much," Tsubame said. "I don't know if it fits..."

How could Yahiko have forgotten? Hoping down from the bed, Yahiko put his arms in the sleeves and shrugged into the cloak.

"Ooh, my," Tsubame said, sounding disappointed. "It's too small."

It was too small.

"That's okay," Yahiko said, grinning. "It's not that small. I can still wear it."

Delight lighted up Tsubame's face.

"You really would?" she asked.

"Sure," Yahiko replied. "I'm not going to let you do all that work for no reason."

Just then, Yahiko heard laughter. His head flipped around, eyes darting to the door. He caught a glimpse of purple. Kenshin? There were two people laughing. That meant only one thing...

"HEY!" Yahiko cried, rushing to the door. He pursued Kenshin and Sano all the way into the town square, fuming as he rushed after them. "Come back here! I'm going to get you two, I swear!"

* * *

**Authoress Note 10/28/09:**

Another thing that I had to edit in the story was some of Kenshin's dialogue. It's typically punctuated with a lot of "my pardons" and "that it is" with slight variations if you're reading the manga instead of watching the anime. In the manga he says "I say" and though I sometimes just go with one or the other I mixed them together this time.

I remember that this was another one of the chapters that I had had fun writing. I love the part where Tsubame presents the cloak to Yahiko.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Kaoru hummed softly as she stepped outside into the fresh air. All the snow had melted, and the air was already feeling warmer. Birds chirped around her, and the air was filled with the sweet smell of flowers. What a wonderful day. The day before, Sano and Kenshin had rushed home, laughing as they came. They told her the humorous story of how Yahiko had chased them into the marketplace, which was after they spied him receiving the gift of a bright red coat from Tsubame. The three of them had laughed together, joking about how easily Yahiko had fallen for Tsubame.

After this accounting, the three had eaten dinner, and Kaoru had had to wrestle the plate containing the last remainder of fish from Sano. He had enjoyed the food so much that he was unwilling to give it up.

Now, all of her friends were home. Kenshin was in the house, cleaning, Sano was taking a nap, and Yahiko was sword practicing not too far away, Megumi having said he had fully recovered and could return home. He had looked ridiculous in that red cloak, so much so that Kaoru had fallen over, helplessly shaking with laughter. That didn't make him remove it, though. Even now as he practiced, he still wore it.

Kaoru smiled. Everything was perfect. Kenshin was home, Yahiko was fine, and the weather was finally starting to change for the better. Kaoru never wanted to leave. This place was home.

Forever.

The End

* * *

**Authoress Note 10/28/09:**

This was a really short chapter to end with. I thought about just combining it with the twelfth chapter, but decided against it because I would've had to slightly change the flow of the story, likely inserting a "Later…" there which I didn't feel like doing.

Hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
